1
ATI PHARMACOLOGY EXAM WITH QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS
[THIS IS SPECIFIC TO ACTUAL 2025/26 EXAM]
1. A patient is being started on niacin (vitamin B3) to reduce triglyceride levels. The nurse
is providing patient education and should include which adverse effects? (Select all
that apply.)
A. Facial flushing
B. Gastric upset
C. Constipation
D. Hypoglycemia
E. Itching
Rationale: Adverse effects of nicotinic acid include intense flushing of the face, neck,
and ears; itching; and GI upset (nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea). Constipation and
hypoglycemia are not adverse effects of niacin therapy.
2. Which of the following would be a contraindication to taking a HMG-COA Reductase
Inhibitor? ----- statin
A. Allergy to peanuts
B. Smoke 1 pack of cigarettes per day
C. Takes fish oil
D. Hypersensitivity reaction to fungal byproducts
3. After the patient's anginal pain is relieved, he says to the nurse, “That
nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) works great. How does it do that?” What is the nurse's
best response?
A. “Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) decreases the amount of oxygen needed by the heart
to function.”
B. “Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) makes the coronary arteries narrower.”
C. “Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) promotes growth of new, smaller arteries to supply
1
,2
oxygen to the heart.”
D. “Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) increases afterload.”
4. The nurse teaches the patient taking sublingual nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) to avoid what?
A. Exercise
2
,3
B. Erectile dysfunction medications
C. Milk products
D. Synthetic fabrics
5. When planning client care the nurse recognizes what client is at greatest risk
of developing coronary artery disease?
A. 32-year-old Asian American with total cholesterol of 120 mg/dL
B. A 62-year-old white American with total cholesterol of 260 mg/dL
C. A 48-year-old African American with total cholesterol of 198 mg/dL
D. A 26-year-old Native American with total cholesterol of 150 mg/dL
Rationale: highest risk due to age and cholesterol level
6. The nurse is preparing to administer sublingual nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) to a client for the
first time and warns that the client may experience what right after administration?
A. Nervousness or paresthesia
B. Throbbing headache or dizziness
C. Drowsiness or blurred vision
D. Tinnitus or diplopia
Rationale: it’s a vasodilator these are adverse effects of nitroglycerin
7. Your client has a history of severe liver failure, high lipid levels, pancreatitis and gallstones.
Which medication would the nurse expect the health care provider to order for the client
who cannot take fibrates or HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors?
A. Niacin
B. Nicotine
C. Vitamin C
D. Aspirin
3
, 4
8. An Asian client comes to the clinic. Upon assessment, the nurse notes a slight yellow tint
to the skin and sclera, edema, and hepatomegaly. The drug history reveals that the client has
been
4
ATI PHARMACOLOGY EXAM WITH QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS
[THIS IS SPECIFIC TO ACTUAL 2025/26 EXAM]
1. A patient is being started on niacin (vitamin B3) to reduce triglyceride levels. The nurse
is providing patient education and should include which adverse effects? (Select all
that apply.)
A. Facial flushing
B. Gastric upset
C. Constipation
D. Hypoglycemia
E. Itching
Rationale: Adverse effects of nicotinic acid include intense flushing of the face, neck,
and ears; itching; and GI upset (nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea). Constipation and
hypoglycemia are not adverse effects of niacin therapy.
2. Which of the following would be a contraindication to taking a HMG-COA Reductase
Inhibitor? ----- statin
A. Allergy to peanuts
B. Smoke 1 pack of cigarettes per day
C. Takes fish oil
D. Hypersensitivity reaction to fungal byproducts
3. After the patient's anginal pain is relieved, he says to the nurse, “That
nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) works great. How does it do that?” What is the nurse's
best response?
A. “Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) decreases the amount of oxygen needed by the heart
to function.”
B. “Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) makes the coronary arteries narrower.”
C. “Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) promotes growth of new, smaller arteries to supply
1
,2
oxygen to the heart.”
D. “Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) increases afterload.”
4. The nurse teaches the patient taking sublingual nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) to avoid what?
A. Exercise
2
,3
B. Erectile dysfunction medications
C. Milk products
D. Synthetic fabrics
5. When planning client care the nurse recognizes what client is at greatest risk
of developing coronary artery disease?
A. 32-year-old Asian American with total cholesterol of 120 mg/dL
B. A 62-year-old white American with total cholesterol of 260 mg/dL
C. A 48-year-old African American with total cholesterol of 198 mg/dL
D. A 26-year-old Native American with total cholesterol of 150 mg/dL
Rationale: highest risk due to age and cholesterol level
6. The nurse is preparing to administer sublingual nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) to a client for the
first time and warns that the client may experience what right after administration?
A. Nervousness or paresthesia
B. Throbbing headache or dizziness
C. Drowsiness or blurred vision
D. Tinnitus or diplopia
Rationale: it’s a vasodilator these are adverse effects of nitroglycerin
7. Your client has a history of severe liver failure, high lipid levels, pancreatitis and gallstones.
Which medication would the nurse expect the health care provider to order for the client
who cannot take fibrates or HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors?
A. Niacin
B. Nicotine
C. Vitamin C
D. Aspirin
3
, 4
8. An Asian client comes to the clinic. Upon assessment, the nurse notes a slight yellow tint
to the skin and sclera, edema, and hepatomegaly. The drug history reveals that the client has
been
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