Case studyPharmacotherapy

Evaluate the current therapy and make recommendations concerning any needed changes .

Every number in this case is doing something. A new diabetes diagnosis, a severe lipid profile nobody is treating, and three existing drugs that interact with all of it.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 22, 2026

Written by

Maren Caldwell

MSN, RN, CNE

Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation

Reviewed by

Dr. Tessa Redmond

DNP, RN, CNE

Evidence-based practice and clinical education

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Interpret the task
Assignment instructions
Deliverables
Proposed outline
Research plan
Reference shortlist
Final review

Two untreated diagnoses are sitting in these numbers

Read the numbers before recommending anything, because two diagnoses are sitting in them and neither is being treated. A fasting glucose of 202 with an A1c of 7.8 percent meets the diagnostic threshold for diabetes, and his presenting symptoms of blurred vision and fatigue are consistent with it, so the first move is a new diagnosis rather than an adjustment. The lipid panel is the second and it is severe: an LDL of 193 with an HDL of 27 and triglycerides of 302 in a man of 69 with a body mass index of 30 and now diabetes puts him at high cardiovascular risk, and his medication list contains nothing addressing it. Say both of those explicitly, because the assignment's phrase evaluate the current therapy is really asking what the current therapy is failing to include, which is a different question from whether the doses are right.

Then let each recommendation cite a value. For additional bloods, a repeat confirmatory glucose or A1c, thyroid stimulating hormone to check whether his levothyroxine dose is adequate since hypothyroidism explains fatigue too, renal function and electrolytes before any change given the lisinopril, liver function before starting a statin, urine albumin to creatinine ratio for diabetic kidney disease, and a uric acid level. For additional history, ask about diet, activity, alcohol, adherence, hypoglycaemic symptoms, family history, gout flare frequency and whether the blurred vision is new, since he needs a dilated retinal examination either way. On therapy, metformin is the usual first-line agent subject to renal function, a statin is indicated on this profile, and the triglycerides warrant attention in their own right. Note two interactions the case sets up deliberately: allopurinol and lisinopril both bear on renal function, and thyroid status alters lipid levels, so an undertreated thyroid may be contributing to the panel you are about to treat.

Likely learning objectives

Recognise a new diagnosis in presented laboratory values.
Identify a condition present in the data and absent from the medication list.
Justify each investigation from a specific value or drug.
Notice interactions between existing therapy and proposed changes.

Assignment instructions

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

NSG 6005 Week 8 Assignment 1 DQ 2 AG is a sixty-nine-year-old male who presents for an initial visit with a complaint of blurred vision, fatigue, and lack of energy .He is currently being treated for hypertension, hypothyroidism, and gouty arthritis .He is currently retired and married, with three adult children .His vital signs are unremarkable, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 .His current medications include lisinopril 20 mg daily, allopurinol 300 mg daily, and levothyroxine 0 .088 mg daily . As per his blood work today, his A1c level is 7 .8%, his fasting blood sugar is 202, his total cholesterol is 180 mg/dL, his high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is 27 mg/dL, his low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is 193 mg/dL, and his triglycerides are 302 mg/dL .Answer the following questions: What additional blood work would you like to complete at this point? Is there any additional information that should be collected from the patient? Evaluate the current therapy and make recommendations concerning any needed changes . What lifestyle modifications or changes do you think would be appropriate for this patient? Select one of the two questions from the discussion questions listed below .By Week 8, Day 3, respond to the selected discussion question and submit your response to this Discussion Area . Be sure to respond to the question using the lessons and vocabulary found in the reading .Justify your answers using examples and reasoning .Support your answers with examples and research and cite your research using APA format . Start reviewing and responding to the postings of your classmates as early in the week as possible .Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts .Participate in the discussion by asking a question, providing a statement of clarification, providing a point of view with a rationale, challenging an aspect of the discussion, or indicating a relationship between two or more lines of reasoning in the discussion .

Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. NSG 6005 Week 8 Assignment 1 DQ 2 One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Turn the brief into deliverables

01A statement that the values meet the diagnostic threshold for diabetes.
02Identification of untreated dyslipidaemia.
03Additional blood work, each justified by a value or a drug.
04Additional history to collect.
05An evaluation of current therapy and recommended changes.
06Lifestyle modifications appropriate to this patient.
07At least one interaction between existing and proposed therapy.