A nurse who works in an outpatient chemotherapy unit has received an order to administer filgrastim (Neupogen)to a client who received chemotherapy this morning.The client's white blood cell count is dropping rapidly.The nurse asks the client to return to the unit tomorrow for the filgrastim.What is the rationale for the nurse's request?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Filgrastim (Neupogen) is a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor that stimulates the production of white blood cells. Administering it immediately after chemotherapy could counteract the effect of chemotherapy drugs, which often work by suppressing the bone marrow (and thus lowering white blood cell counts). The rationale for waiting is to allow the chemotherapy to exert its full effect before attempting to mitigate one of its side effects (low white blood cell count) with filgrastim.

A Nurse Who Works in an Outpatient Chemotherapy Unit Has