Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN) Advanced Practice (AP) Practice Test

Alcohol withdrawal happens when someone who has been drinking heavily stops or reduces intake, and the brain becomes hyperactive as it readjusts. This produces a range of symptoms from mild to severe. Common features include tremors, agitation, anxiety, insomnia, tachycardia, hypertension, sweating, and nausea. As withdrawal can progress, seizures may occur within a day or two, and delirium tremens can develop with severe confusion and marked agitation, often accompanied by fever and perceptual disturbances. The option that includes agitation, fever, seizures, tremors, confusion, and delusions fits this spectrum, capturing both the autonomic and neurologic signs seen with withdrawal and the potential delirium stage. The other options don’t describe the withdrawal pattern: nausea and lightheadedness alone are too limited; chronic cough and wheezing point to respiratory disease; hyperactivity and euphoria suggest stimulant effects, not withdrawal.