A community health nurse participating in planning programs for the coming year considers incidence rates to better understand the needs of the community. Which statement below is the most accurate explanation of incidence rates?

A. New cases of a disease or condition in a community over a period of time are included in incidence rates.
B. The number of all cases of a specific disease or condition in a population at a given point in time relative to the population at the same point in time is included in incidence rates.
C. Incidence rate refers to the number of new cases of a disease in those exposed to the disease.
D. The term incidence rate refers to the percentage of deaths in a specific period of time from a specific cause.

 A

Explanation:

Incidence rates describe the occurrence of new cases of a disease or condition in a community during a period of time relative to the size of the population at risk for that disease or condition during that same time period. In calculating this rate, the numerator is the number of new cases during the specific period of time, and the denominator consists only of those who are at risk for developing the disease or condition during the specific period of time. A prevalence rate is the number of all cases of a specific disease or condition in a population at a given point in time relative to the population at the same point in time. Attack rates document the number of new cases of a disease in those exposed to the disease. The percentage of deaths in a specific period of time from a specific cause refers to the mortality rate.

There are no significant drug-drug interactions between buprenorphine and direct anti-viral agents.

Patients with impaired hepatic function can be treated with buprenorphine but should be monitored.

Buprenorphine does not cause elevated transaminases.

Explanation:

Buprenorphine is a medication used to treat severe pain, chronic pain and opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine is a partial agonist at the mu receptor, which binds to the mu-opioid receptor and activates it in order to produce a biological response. Examples of medications that interact with Buprenorphine include, among others, mixed opioid agonist-antagonists (i.e., butorphanol, pentazocine and nalbuphine), opiate antagonists (i.e., naltrexone), etc. Although patients with impaired hepatic function can be treated with this medication, it is important to highlight that they must be observed for reactions such as toxicity or overdose. Transaminases (also known as aminotransferases) are enzymes that catalyze the transfer of an amino group from an amine to an acceptor, and whose elevated levels in the blood can be an indicator of many diseases. The presence of elevated transaminases is associated with hepatic diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases and alcoholic liver disease, which may be caused by drug-induced hepatotoxicity (i.e., ACE inhibitors, nicotinic acid, acetaminophen, erythromycin, antifungal agents, etc).