Particularly after her PANSS test results, the client in this case has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, paranoid type, in which positive symptoms like delusions are prevalent. The purpose of this paper is to clarify three key psychopharmacological treatment decisions made on behalf of the client. Goals of all three decisions are symptom reduction and the promotion of the client's mental health and psychosocial functioning.
Decision
The decision was to give the patient Invega Sustenna (paliperidone palmitate) 234 mg intramuscular X1 followed by 156 mg intramuscular on day 4 and monthly thereafter, instead of either Zyprexa (olanzapine) or Abilify. The reasoning is based primarily on the fact that Invega Sustenna is a long-acting injectable with fewer compliance complications than orally administered drugs. Although Abilify has been available as a long-acting injectable, Invega Sustenna is recommended in this case because it presents fewer side effects than either Zyprexa or Abilify, particularly those the client has been concerned about such as weight gain (Khanna et al., 2016). Moreover, Invega Sustenna is a second-generation antipsychotic known to be "better tolerated and have fewer adverse neurological side effects" than first-generation
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