Question

The client is receiving chemotherapy for cancer. The physician has prescribed oprelvekin (Neumega). The nurse has completed medication education and evaluates it as effective when the client makes which statement?

1. "This medication will help my chemotherapy work better."
2. "This medication will help increase my platelet count."
3. "This medication will help me regain the weight I have lost."
4. "This medication will help increase my red blood cell count."

Answer 1

The correct statement indicating effective medication education for a client prescribed oprelvekin (Neumega) is, "This medication will help increase my platelet count." Oprelvekin is used to boost platelets in chemotherapy patients to reduce the risk of bleeding due to low platelet counts caused by chemotherapy.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse would evaluate medication education as effective when the client makes the statement: "This medication will help increase my platelet count." Oprelvekin (Neumega) is a drug given to chemotherapy patients to boost Platelete count. It is a thrombopoietic growth factor that stimulates the production of platelets in the bone marrow. Its main use is to prevent thrombocytopenia, a condition where a person has a low platelet count, which increases the risk of bleeding.

Chemotherapy, while effective against cancer cells, also damages healthy rapidly dividing cells, leading to side effects such as nausea, hair loss, and damage to the bone marrow, impacting blood cell counts. Patients receiving chemotherapy may have blood tests, such as an absolute neutrophil count (ANC), to monitor their blood cell levels. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell important for infection defense, and a normal ANC is generally considered to range from 2,500 to 6,000 cells per microliter. A count of 1900 cells per microliter may be considered low, but treatment decisions are based on individual patient circumstances and threshold levels set by healthcare providers.