Interview with Kathleen Fagerlund and Lisa Carney Anderson, authors of a two part research series: Perioperative Medication Withholding in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease (Jan) & The Perioperative Experience of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease (Feb)

Medication regimens in patients with Parkinson’s Disease may be complex, partly owing to the short one-to-two hour half-life of the primary medication, carbidopa-levodopa (Sinemet). When these patients are subject to prolonged medication withholding because of NPO restrictions prior to surgery, symptoms become exacerbated quickly and patients can become agitated, hallucinate and suffer extreme rigidity. AJN editor in chief Shawn Kennedy discusses the findings of these two studies with the authors and the implications for nurses.