Nokea
A woman has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is being treated aggressively with a chemotherapeutic regimen. As a result of this regimen, she has an inability to fight infection due to the fact that her bone marrow is unable to produce a sufficient amount of what?
- A. Lymphocytes
- B. Cytoblasts
- C. Antibodies
- D. Capillaries
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The white blood cells involved in immunity (including lymphocytes) are produced in the bone marrow. Cytoblasts are the protoplasm of the cell outside the nucleus. Antibodies are produced by lymphocytes, but not in the bone marrow. Capillaries are small blood vessels.
You may also like to solve these questions
A gerontologic nurse is caring for an older adult patient who has a diagnosis of pneumonia. What age-related change increases older adults susceptibility to respiratory infections?
- A. Atrophy of the thymus
- B. Bronchial stenosis
- C. Impaired ciliary action
- D. Decreased diaphragmatic muscle tone
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: As a consequence of impaired ciliary action due to exposure to smoke and environmental toxins, older adults are vulnerable to lung infections. This vulnerability is not the result of thymus atrophy, stenosis of the bronchi, or loss of diaphragmatic muscle tone.
The nurse is assessing a clients risk for impaired immune function. What assessment finding should the nurse identify as a risk factor for decreased immunity?
- A. The patient takes a beta blocker for the treatment of hypertension.
- B. The patient is under significant psychosocial stress.
- C. The patient had a pulmonary embolism 18 months ago.
- D. The patient has a family history of breast cancer.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Stress is a psychoneuroimmunologic factor that is known to depress the immune response. Use of beta blockers, a family history of cancer, and a prior PE are significant assessment findings, but none represents an immediate threat to immune function.
A nursing student is giving a report on the immune system. What function of cytokines should the student describe?
- A. Determining whether a cell is foreign
- B. Determining if lymphokines will be activated
- C. Determining whether the T cells will remain in the nodes and retain a memory of the antigen
- D. Determining whether the immune response will be the production of antibodies or a cell-mediated response
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Separate subpopulations of helper T cells produce different types of cytokines and determine whether the immune response will be the production of antibodies or a cell-mediated immune response. Cytokines do not determine whether cells are foreign, determine if lymphokines will be activated, or determine the role of memory T cells.
A nurse is reviewing a patients medication administration record in an effort to identify drugs that may contribute to the patients recent immunosuppression. What drug is most likely to have this effect?
- A. An antibiotic
- B. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)
- C. An antineoplastic
- D. An antiretroviral
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Chemotherapy affects bone marrow function, destroying cells that contribute to an effective immune response and resulting in immunosuppression. Antibiotics in large doses cause bone marrow suppression, but antineoplastic drugs have the most pronounced immunosuppressive effect. NSAIDs and antiretrovirals do not normally have this effect.
A patient was recently exposed to infectious microorganisms and many T lymphocytes are now differentiating into killer T cells. This process characterizes what stage of the immune response?
- A. Effector
- B. Proliferation
- C. Response
- D. Recognition
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: In the proliferation stage, T lymphocytes differentiate into cytotoxic (or killer) T cells, whereas B lymphocytes produce and release antibodies. This does not occur in the response, recognition, or effector stages.