Directions
Review the case study and then answer the questions that follow.
Case Study
Thomas Frost, 51, is a partner at a leading financial firm. He has been working with you off and on for several years. His wife Joanne, with whom you have permission to speak, calls you.
Joanne Transcript
Hello, this is Joanne Frost, Thomas’s wife. Thank you so much for taking my call. I’m very worried.
I…I need to talk to you about Thomas’s drinking. I think you know he’s tried to reduce it again? Well, things are not going well with that. It used to be okay. We’d go out with friends; he’d have one or two beers. I’d have a glass of wine.
Last week, I found him passed out at our kitchen counter.
I think even the children know now. Take last night, we were out for dinner. We both had a glass of wine. But he downed his quickly, had another one or two. And the next thing I know, he’s yelling at Christian about making a mess. I think he was drinking before we went out. Christian had no idea why Daddy was yelling at him. And later, Olivia, Olivia told me she doesn’t want to go out to eat anymore.
I’m worrying about his job, too. Thomas doesn’t know I know. But his assistant, Jiao, told me in confidence that he’s falling way behind, and she’s been covering for him. She’s pretty sure the partners are going to notice soon. And if he loses his partnership….
Do you think he really is an alcoholic? He’s not falling down drunk all the time. And he isn’t abusive towards me and the kids. But maybe he does need some kind of treatment plan? How would we deal with withdrawal if he finally stops completely? Can you help us find the right kind of care? Maybe something where this won’t get out in public? I don’t want him to lose his clients.
[sigh] I guess I have a lot of questions and I don’t know what to do.
Questions
From your perspective as Thomas’s psychiatric nurse practitioner, address the following in your initial post, based on the initial letter of your last name
- I–O: What FDA medications are approved for treating alcohol use disorder? How would you know when to use one FDA-approved medication versus another in treating a patient with alcohol use disorder (such as patient symptoms, medical problems, compliance issues, and so on)? What side effects would you expect and educate a patient about with the FDA-approved medications for alcohol use disorder? Identify one medication used off-label in treating alcohol use disorder and provide a source supporting its use.