ATI RN
NCLEX questions on chemotherapy drugs Questions
Question 1 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 2 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 3 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.
Question 4 of 5
A 24-year-old primigravid woman’s water breaks at 39 weeks gestation. Twenty-four hours later, she is having regular contractions 3 min apart. Her labor lasts 8 h. At the hospital, she gives birth to a baby boy, who initially appeared healthy. Within the next 12 h, the baby boy begins to have temperature fluctuations, difficulty breathing, and reduced movements. You suspect neonatal sepsis, so IV ampicillin is started. Which additional antibiotic could be given simultaneously to have a synergistic effect in controlling this infection?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Gentamicin, an aminoglycoside, synergizes with ampicillin (a β-lactam) in neonatal sepsis, covering gram-negative bacteria (e.g., E. coli) and enhancing bactericidal activity.
Question 5 of 5
A 19-year-old college student man presents to the student health service with a 2-week history of headache, malaise, sore throat, and dry cough, which has become productive over the last 4 days. He states that several of his dorm mates have complained of similar problems in the last few weeks. Pulmonary auscultation reveals scattered coarse rhonchi bilaterally. What is the best treatment for this patient?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Oral erythromycin is effective against Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a common cause of atypical pneumonia in young adults (e.g., college students), presenting with cough and rhonchi.