Contraindications and interactions first, the heartburn claim last: a composite heart failure patient's licorice root capsules, examined in an NU434 Unit 7 supplement safety brief. Searches like "nu 434 unit 7 assignment example", "nu434 unit 7 sample" and "nu434 unit 7 example" land here.
Licorice Root for Heartburn in a Patient With Heart Failure on Furosemide and Digoxin: A Supplement Safety Brief
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NU434: Holistic Nursing
Unit 7 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Composite patient written as a model document. Routed to the prescribing clinicians; nothing here is a prescribing instruction.
Summary of Concern
A supplement that lowers potassium, taken by a patient whose diuretic already lowers potassium and whose digoxin becomes more dangerous when potassium is low.
Client Profile
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Prescribed furosemide and digoxin. Taking licorice root capsules for heartburn for six weeks, bought at a health food store; the label does not state the glycyrrhizin content.
Contraindications
Licorice containing glycyrrhizin should be avoided in hypertension, heart failure, kidney disease, low potassium and pregnancy (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, n.d.; Omar et al., 2012). The FDA has warned that eating 2 ounces of black licorice a day for at least two weeks can cause an irregular heart rhythm in adults 40 and older (Food and Drug Administration, 2017).
Interactions
Furosemide: both lower potassium, so the effects add up. Evidence: pharmacology and case reports.
Digoxin: low potassium raises the risk of digoxin toxicity and arrhythmia. Evidence: pharmacology and case reports.
Heart failure itself: glycyrrhizin promotes sodium and fluid retention, which can worsen congestion. Evidence: case reports and physiology.
Mechanism
Glycyrrhizin is converted in the body to glycyrrhetinic acid, which blocks the enzyme 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2. That enzyme normally inactivates cortisol in the kidney, keeping it off the mineralocorticoid receptor. When it is blocked, cortisol acts like aldosterone: the kidney holds sodium and water and loses potassium (Omar et al., 2012).
Product Quality
Supplement labels often do not state glycyrrhizin content, so the dose he is taking is unknown. Deglycyrrhizinated licorice, sold as DGL, has most of the glycyrrhizin removed and does not carry the same mineralocorticoid effect; it is a separate case and should not be assumed safe without the clinician's review.
Claimed Benefit
Licorice has been used for heartburn and stomach complaints, but evidence for benefit is limited (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, n.d.).
Routing
To the cardiologist and pharmacist: request potassium and digoxin levels, review of the supplement, and a safer plan for his heartburn. He has been advised to bring the bottle to his next visit and has agreed to stop taking it until the cardiologist reviews it. He was also asked about other supplements and teas, since he had not mentioned licorice until the nurse asked directly about anything he took for his stomach; supplements are often left off medication lists because patients do not think of them as medicines.
References
Food and Drug Administration. (2017). Black licorice: Trick or treat? [Consumer update]. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (n.d.). Licorice root. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
Omar, H. R., Komarova, I., El-Ghonemi, M., Fathy, A., Rashad, R., Abdelmalak, H. D., Yerramadha, M. R., Ali, Y., Helal, E., & Camporesi, E. M. (2012). Licorice abuse: Time to send a warning message. Therapeutic Advances in Endocrinology and Metabolism, 3(4), 125-138. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042018812454322
How this NU434 Unit 7 example is structured
Order is the argument, harm before benefit, and the brief says so in its opening line. The boxed summary names the single most important finding, a supplement that pulls potassium down in a patient whose medications already do. Contraindications come next as a list, each with its source, from NCCIH's licorice root summary and a licensed interaction database to the FDA's consumer warning on black licorice for adults 40 and older. The interaction table follows, one row per prescription, with a column stating the type of evidence: case reports, pharmacology or controlled study. Product quality receives a short section on unlabeled glycyrrhizin content and on deglycyrrhizinated forms. Claimed benefits appear only on the final page, briefly, with the limited evidence for heartburn relief stated plainly. A routing statement addressed to the cardiologist and pharmacist ends the brief.
Get an NU434 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Which product does the Unit 7 scenario involve, and what else is on the client's medication list? Paste both exactly as given, with the rubric. The brief leads with contraindications and interactions, labels its evidence, and routes every concern to a prescriber. A first sample costs nothing and lands inside 24-48h, built on your instructions. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
NU434 Unit 7 questions, answered
Can the brief say the client should stop the supplement?
Not as an instruction. The brief can state that the combination raises a serious concern and that the prescriber and pharmacist should review it promptly, which communicates urgency without prescribing. Telling a client to stop a product, or to change a medication, belongs to the prescriber in most practice settings, and instructors in this course often treat that line as a scope test.
Why do the benefits come last?
Because the reader of a safety brief is deciding whether a product is safe for this person, and that question does not depend on whether it works. A benefit section placed first frames the risks as side notes, and many rubrics in this unit expect the reverse order. The sample still reports the heartburn evidence honestly, limited as it is, so the brief stays balanced.
Does deglycyrrhizinated licorice raise the same concerns?
Largely not, because processing removes most of the glycyrrhizin responsible for potassium loss and fluid retention. The brief mentions it to show that product form matters, not to recommend a switch, which would be the prescriber's call. If your scenario involves a product labeled DGL, the interaction table changes substantially, and the brief should say so explicitly.