ATI RN
NCLEX questions on chemotherapy drugs Questions
Question 1 of 5
A 4-year-old boy is hospitalized on the pediatric service with cough, runny nose, and chest pressure. Concern for respiratory syncytial virus is brought up by the treating physician. Treatment with zanamivir is undertaken. Which of the following underlying conditions can worsen bronchospasm in this patient?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Zanamivir, an inhaled antiviral, can cause bronchospasm, particularly in patients with asthma, worsening respiratory symptoms in RSV infection.
Question 2 of 5
A 45-year-old man with HIV disease and herpesvirus has begun on therapy with foscarnet. The medication is administered intravenously. If serum electrolytes are drawn on this patient after 1 week of therapy, which of the following laboratory values would be expected to be abnormal?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Foscarnet can cause hypocalcemia by chelating calcium ions, a common side effect, along with renal toxicity, in treating herpesviruses in HIV patients.
Question 3 of 5
A 43-year-old man with leukemia is hospitalized for treatment after his prior chemotherapeutic regimen failed to produce remission. Bone marrow biopsy is repeated and indicates the presence of hairy cell leukemia. Treatment with fludarabine has begun. This agent likely works in which of the following ways?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Fludarabine is a purine analog that requires phosphorylation into its active triphosphate form, inhibiting DNA synthesis and repair, highly effective in hairy cell leukemia.
Question 4 of 5
A 63-year-old woman presents with a productive cough, shortness of breath, and fever and chills. Past medical history is significant for chronic renal disease. After a standard dose of which of the following drugs would you expect to see the greatest increase in serum drug concentration?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Cefepime, a cephalosporin, is renally excreted; in chronic renal disease, reduced clearance leads to higher serum concentrations, requiring dose adjustment.
Question 5 of 5
An 18-year-old female plans to take a mission trip to Ghana for 2 weeks during the summer following her senior year of high school. Her doctor recommends starting a regimen of mefloquine before her trip for malaria prophylaxis rather than the traditional chloroquine because of widespread resistance to chloroquine. What is the mechanism of chloroquine resistance?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Chloroquine resistance in Plasmodium falciparum is primarily due to increased efflux pumps (e.g., PfCRT), expelling the drug from the parasite’s digestive vacuole.