Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 63%
Full-length
The nurse is assessing and getting a history from a client treated for depression with a monoamine oxidase (MAO) antidepressant. The most serious side effect associated with this antidepressant and the ingestion of tyramine in aged foods may be:
Correct answer
A
Rationale
The most serious adverse reactions of MAO inhibitors involve blood pressure and ingestion of tyramine-containing foods, which may provoke a hypertensive crisis. MAO inhibitors cause adverse reactions affecting the central nervous system and serious adverse reactions involving blood pressure. MAO inhibitors affect neurotransmitters and may produce hypotensive reactions, but hypertensive crisis is the primary concern with tyramine. Gastrointestinal side effects may occur, but they are not the most serious adverse reactions.