A patient who has been self-injecting epoetin
alfa (Procrit) three times weekly for anemia now reports all of these problems. For which one do you tell him or her to call 911?
a. Fever and chills
b. Drooping on the right side of the face
c. 3 lb weight gain over the past 2 weeks
d. Intermittent pain and redness at the injection site
Question 2
A patient coming to the clinic for a weekly
infusion of darbepoetin alpha (Aranesp) has all of the following changes. For which change should you hold the dose of the drug?
a. Weight loss of 5 lb
b. Hemoglobin increase from 8 to 10 g/dL
c. Blood potassium increase from 3.8 to 4.8 mEq/L
d. Blood pressure increase from 126/80 to 148/92 mm Hg