Test Bank - Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (8th Edition by Karch)
1. The body’s first-line barrier defense is considered to be what?
a. Mast cells
b. Mucous membranes
c. Skin
d. T cells
Ans: C
Feedback:
The skin is the first line of barrier defense. It acts as a physical barrier to protect the
internal tissues and organs of the body. Mast cells are part of cellular defense. They
are found in the respiratory and GI tracts and are fixed basophils that do not circulate.
Mucous membranes are a barrier defense that line the areas of the body that are
exposed to external influences but do not have the benefit of skin protection. T cells
are part of the immune response and provide cell-mediated immunity. Activation of a
T cell by a nonself-cell results in responses that destroy foreign cells.
2. The nurse recognizes what patient has lost a barrier defense increasing his risk for
infection?
a. A 68-year-old man diagnosed with prostate cancer
b. A 24-year-old man diagnosed with partial thickness burns
c. A 13-year-old boy diagnosed with chickenpox
d. A 72-year-old man diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia
Ans: B
Feedback:
A burn patient loses the protective barrier of the skin and is at risk for infection. In a
partial thickness burn, the glands of the skin secrete chemicals that destroy many
pathogens and also the normal flora that live on the skin. A cancer patient has
decreased cellular defenses. The patient with chickenpox and the patient with
pneumonia both have a diminished immune defense along with the prostate cancer
patient but still are at less risk for infection than the burn patient.
3. After reviewing the results of a complete blood count on a patient who is
diagnosed with an acute infection, what will the nurse expect to see elevated?
a. Basophil count
b. Eosinophil count
c. Hematocrit
, d. Neutrophil count
Ans: D
Feedback:
During an acute infection, the neutrophils are rapidly produced in response to the
interleukins released by active white blood cells. They move to the site of insult to
attack the foreign substance. Eosinophils are often increased in an allergic response.
Basophils would only increase with generalized bone marrow stimulation. The
hematocrit level is increased in polycythemia.
4. A new mother calls the clinic and tells the nurse her toddler has a temperature of
102ºF. How does the nurse explain why the mother should not be alarmed?
a. A fever is the body’s way of fighting an infection and supporting the
body’s immune system.
b. Neutrophils release pyrogen, a fever-causing substance, which helps act as
a catalyst for the body’s inflammatory and immune responses.
c. Leukotrienes activated by arachidonic acid attract neutrophils to start the
process of fighting inflammation.
d. Inflammation causes the activation of a chemical called Hageman factor
that initiates a process to bring more blood to the injured area and allows
white blood cells to escape into the tissues.
Ans: A
Feedback:
The best response by the nurse would be that a fever actually increases the efficiency
of the immune and inflammatory responses, helping the body to fight the infection.
While the other three statements are correct, they are more technical and include
terminology that a new mother may not understand or even care about. If the
appropriate response does not suffice and the mother still has questions, the nurse
would then go into more detail and use the rationale from the other options to explain
in greater detail.
5. A patient presents to the emergency department with an infected wound on his left
forearm. The nurse explains the inflammatory response caused by the injury will
occur in what sequence?
a. Heat, pain, redness, swelling
b. Swelling, pain, redness, heat
c. Redness, swelling, heat, pain
d. Pain, redness, swelling, heat
Ans: C
Feedback:
The inflammatory response will begin with redness in the direct line of the infected
wound. Next, swelling will occur because of the fluid that leaks into the tissue as a
1. The body’s first-line barrier defense is considered to be what?
a. Mast cells
b. Mucous membranes
c. Skin
d. T cells
Ans: C
Feedback:
The skin is the first line of barrier defense. It acts as a physical barrier to protect the
internal tissues and organs of the body. Mast cells are part of cellular defense. They
are found in the respiratory and GI tracts and are fixed basophils that do not circulate.
Mucous membranes are a barrier defense that line the areas of the body that are
exposed to external influences but do not have the benefit of skin protection. T cells
are part of the immune response and provide cell-mediated immunity. Activation of a
T cell by a nonself-cell results in responses that destroy foreign cells.
2. The nurse recognizes what patient has lost a barrier defense increasing his risk for
infection?
a. A 68-year-old man diagnosed with prostate cancer
b. A 24-year-old man diagnosed with partial thickness burns
c. A 13-year-old boy diagnosed with chickenpox
d. A 72-year-old man diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia
Ans: B
Feedback:
A burn patient loses the protective barrier of the skin and is at risk for infection. In a
partial thickness burn, the glands of the skin secrete chemicals that destroy many
pathogens and also the normal flora that live on the skin. A cancer patient has
decreased cellular defenses. The patient with chickenpox and the patient with
pneumonia both have a diminished immune defense along with the prostate cancer
patient but still are at less risk for infection than the burn patient.
3. After reviewing the results of a complete blood count on a patient who is
diagnosed with an acute infection, what will the nurse expect to see elevated?
a. Basophil count
b. Eosinophil count
c. Hematocrit
, d. Neutrophil count
Ans: D
Feedback:
During an acute infection, the neutrophils are rapidly produced in response to the
interleukins released by active white blood cells. They move to the site of insult to
attack the foreign substance. Eosinophils are often increased in an allergic response.
Basophils would only increase with generalized bone marrow stimulation. The
hematocrit level is increased in polycythemia.
4. A new mother calls the clinic and tells the nurse her toddler has a temperature of
102ºF. How does the nurse explain why the mother should not be alarmed?
a. A fever is the body’s way of fighting an infection and supporting the
body’s immune system.
b. Neutrophils release pyrogen, a fever-causing substance, which helps act as
a catalyst for the body’s inflammatory and immune responses.
c. Leukotrienes activated by arachidonic acid attract neutrophils to start the
process of fighting inflammation.
d. Inflammation causes the activation of a chemical called Hageman factor
that initiates a process to bring more blood to the injured area and allows
white blood cells to escape into the tissues.
Ans: A
Feedback:
The best response by the nurse would be that a fever actually increases the efficiency
of the immune and inflammatory responses, helping the body to fight the infection.
While the other three statements are correct, they are more technical and include
terminology that a new mother may not understand or even care about. If the
appropriate response does not suffice and the mother still has questions, the nurse
would then go into more detail and use the rationale from the other options to explain
in greater detail.
5. A patient presents to the emergency department with an infected wound on his left
forearm. The nurse explains the inflammatory response caused by the injury will
occur in what sequence?
a. Heat, pain, redness, swelling
b. Swelling, pain, redness, heat
c. Redness, swelling, heat, pain
d. Pain, redness, swelling, heat
Ans: C
Feedback:
The inflammatory response will begin with redness in the direct line of the infected
wound. Next, swelling will occur because of the fluid that leaks into the tissue as a
