Author Question: A patient with cancer is taking rasburicase Elitek to treat hyperuricemia and develops neutropenia ... (Read 62 times)

appyboo · **on:** Jul 23, 2018

A patient with cancer is taking rasburicase Elitek to treat hyperuricemia and develops neutropenia with fever and respiratory distress on the fourth day of treatment. The nurse caring for this patient will expect to:

a. administer allopurinol instead of rasburi-case.
b. continue giving the drug and monitor the patient's symptoms closely.
c. tell the patient that this drug should never be used again.
d. tell the patient that these symptoms indi-cate severe sepsis.

Question 2

A 1-year-old child is scheduled to receive the MMR vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine (PCV), Varivax, and hepatitis A vaccine.

The child's parents request that the MMR vaccine not be given, saying that, even though there is no demonstrated link with autism, they are still concerned about toxic levels of mercury in the vaccine. Which response by the nurse is correct? a. Most U.S.-made vaccines have zero to low amounts of mercury.
b. Other vaccine preparations contain mer-cury as well.
c. Thimerosal is a nontoxic form of mer-cury.
d. You can get more mercury from breast milk and many foods on the market.

Carissamariew · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 23, 2018

Answer to Question 1

B
Rasburicase is used for management of hyperuricemia in patients undergoing treatment with chemotherapy for leukemias, lymphomas, and solid tumors. Fever and respiratory distress may occur; patients should be monitored closely. These symptoms do not warrant stopping the drug, and they do not indicate severe sepsis.

Answer to Question 2

A
Because of concerns about mercury levels, most U.S.-made vaccines contain either zero or very low amounts of mercury. Some multidose vials of flu vaccine still contain thimerosal, but even that is a very low amount. Telling parents that other vaccines contain mercury will increase their suspicion about vaccines and further reduce their trust. Thimerosal is a mercury-based preserva-tive and thus has the same toxicity as mercury. Although it is true that mercury is found in breast milk and other foods, telling parents this belittles their concerns about the vaccines.