Medical Emergencies · patient case question
Before proceeding, what is the essential immediate step?
Patient case: Hypertensive woman who has not taken her medication
Patient: Adult female
Chief complaint: Attends for a scheduled appointment.
Background: Hypertension, treated with medication. She mentions to the dentist that she forgot to take her antihypertensive medication today.
Current findings: The dentist wishes to assess how consistently she actually takes it.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Measure her blood pressure
- A. Dismissing her before establishing the actual reading is premature.
- B. Administering another practitioner's prescription medication is outside the dentist's scope.
- C. Assuming without measuring is unsafe in a known hypertensive who has skipped a dose.
- D. CORRECT. A missed dose is a reason to MEASURE, not to assume. The blood pressure reading determines whether treatment proceeds, proceeds with a stress-reduction protocol and limited epinephrine, or is deferred for medical management.
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