Pharmacology question

Question

A nurse is collecting data from a client who is taking sumatriptan. Which of the following reports indicates a therapeutic response to the medication?

Answer 1

I’d like point out that Sumatriptan is indicated as an abortive treatment of migraines specifically. Therefore, it is given when a patient presents with an acute migraine currently occurring. Therefore, a report that the patient’s current headache is improved would be the expected response. We do not give sumatriptan for migraine prophylaxis, so we wouldn’t expect our patient to report a decrease in frequency/intensity of migraines, as this is not a benefit of sumatriptan. It treats a migraine that the patient is currently suffering from but no future migraines.

Now, there prophylactic agents that are taken regularly to prevent migraines - a reduction in frequency/intensity of migraines would be expected for a therapeutic response for these agents, but that response isn’t applicable to abortive meds like sumatriptan.

Answer 2

Migraine Relief

Answer 3

A decrease in migraine symptoms is usually the first sign of a therapeutic response to sumatriptan, a medicine that is frequently used to treat migraines. As a result, the nurse ought to ask the patient if the frequency and intensity of their migraine attacks have decreased. A positive therapeutic response to sumatriptan is indicated if the patient reports having fewer or milder migraine attacks. Furthermore, a complete lack of migraine symptoms would also point to a therapeutic outcome.