DSSSB 13 August 2024
Pharmacology
Easy

The tablet Arkaminis used in the management of:

Appeared in: DSSSB 13 August 2024

Explanation

  • Arkamin is a brand name for the drug Clonidine.
  • Clonidine is an active antihypertensive medication, FDA-approved for the treatment of hypertension.
  • It acts as a centrally acting alpha-2 adrenergic agonist, which reduces sympathetic nerve impulses from the brain to the heart and blood vessels.
  • This mechanism leads to decreased peripheral vascular resistance, a slower heart rate, and a reduction in blood pressure.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

  • Option A: Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition resulting in insulin deficiency. Treatment involves insulin replacement therapy.
  • Option B: Hypercholesterolemia, or high cholesterol, is managed with lipid-lowering agents like statins, not antihypertensives like clonidine.
  • Option D: Type 2 diabetes involves insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. It is managed with oral hypoglycemic agents (like Metformin), other antidiabetic drugs, or insulin, not clonidine.

Related Visual

Visual explanation — Related Visual
Clinical Relevance
  • Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Pharmacological indication of Arkamin (Clonidine) as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
  • A critical nursing responsibility is patient education regarding clonidine. Abrupt discontinuation can cause severe rebound hypertension, characterized by a rapid and dramatic increase in blood pressure, anxiety, and palpitations. Patients must be instructed to never stop the medication suddenly and to taper the dose under medical supervision.
  • Nurses should monitor for common side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, and dry mouth. Blood pressure and heart rate should be checked before administration, holding the dose if the patient is hypotensive (e.g., systolic BP below 90 mmHg) or bradycardic.
  • What if? If a patient on clonidine presents with a new prescription for a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA), the nurse should flag this for the prescriber. TCAs can inhibit the hypotensive effects of clonidine, potentially leading to uncontrolled hypertension.
How to Approach the Question
  • First, identify the drug name in the question: 'Arkamin'.
  • Recognize that this is a brand name and try to recall its generic name, which is Clonidine.
  • Access your knowledge of pharmacology to classify Clonidine. It is a centrally acting alpha-2 adrenergic agonist.
  • Recall the primary therapeutic use for this class of drugs, which is the treatment of hypertension.
  • Evaluate the given options. 'Hypertension' directly matches the known indication for Clonidine.
  • Eliminate the other options: diabetes (managed by antidiabetics/insulin) and hypercholesterolemia (managed by statins) are incorrect indications for this drug.
Concept Tested & Keywords
  • Concept Tested: Pharmacological indication of Arkamin (Clonidine)
  • Stem keywords: Arkamin, management
  • Lead-in keywords: used in
  • Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

QSZqbOP3aIDJIpj5j1oach

Reference Book

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 10456-10458

E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) pp. 2193-2195, 2190-2192

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