A nurse provides care on a bone marrow transplant unit and is preparing a female patient for a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) the following day. What information should the nurse emphasize to the patient's family and friends?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: HSCT wipes out immunity, leaving patients prone to sepsis recent infections in visitors could bring pathogens (e.g., flu, strep) into her sterile bubble. Telling family to skip visits if sick is priority, trumping gown-wearing (useful but secondary) or fasting (not typically 24 hours). Gathering for a bad outcome's overly grim HSCT's risky but not a death sentence pre-procedure. Nurses stress this to shield the patient during the 2-4 week engraftment window, when neutropenia peaks, making infection control the linchpin of pre-transplant education in oncology.
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