PathoPharm quiz 4
A nurse is teaching a nursing student what is meant by "generations" of cephalosporins. Which statement by the student indicates understanding of the teaching?
"Cephalosporins have increased activity against gram-negative bacteria with each generation.
A nurse knows that immune function is most likely to be effective in a
30-year-old.
When reviewing the allergy history of a patient, the nurse notes that the patient is allergic to penicillin. Based on this finding, the nurse would question an order for which class of antibiotics?
Cephalosporin. Penicillins and Cephalosporins are both beta lactum antibiotics and if a patient has an allergic reaction to one they may have an allergic reaction to the other.
A characteristic of some bacteria is
contains cell wall endotoxin.
In acute hypothermia, what physiologic change shunts blood away from the colder skin to the body core in an effort to decrease heat loss?
Peripheral vasoconstriction
Drug resistance of microbes occurs secondary to
mutation of the microbe.
A nurse teaches a patient about sulfonamides. Which statement by the patient indicates a need for further teaching?
"I should stop taking this drug when my symptoms are gone."
When a patient has a fever, which of the following thermoregulatory mechanisms is activated?
Fever (fibrile response) is a temporary "resetting of the hypothalamic thermostat" to a higher level in response to endogenous or exogenous pyrogens. Fever is the result of the body's attempt to raise temperature, not adjust it to a lower level. When fever occurs, the temperature is raised, but the rise is due to a reset of the thermostat. Bacteria do not stimulate peripheral thermogenesis, but their endotoxins do.
A patient who has been taking gentamicin for 5 days reports a headache and dizziness. What will the nurse do?
Suspect ototoxicity and notify the prescriber, Signs and symptoms of ototoxicity are dizzyness and headaches.
A pregnant adolescent patient asks the nurse whether she should continue to take her prescription for tetracycline [Sumycin] to clear up her acne. Which response by the nurse is correct?
Tetracycline can stain children's teeth in the womb and thus should be avoided unless needed for severe infections.
When a nurse practitioner says that pathogens possess virulence, what does virulence mean?
Virulence is the capacity of a pathogen to cause severe disease. Communicability is the ability to spread the disease from one individual to another. Damaging tissues is the pathogen's mechanism of action. Microbial adherence is the ability of pathogens to latch onto and gain entry into the host.
Clinical data indicating that a patient has an increased risk of infection include
surgical wound.
The nurse is caring for a patient on a medical-surgical unit who has a fever of unknown origin. The prescriber has ordered a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Which intervention is the priority?
Obtaining all cultures before the antibiotic is administered
Vaccination is an important means of inhibiting the spread of infection by
reducing the victim's susceptibility.
