A nurse is caring for an African American patient with severe hemophilia A who has been admitted for bleeding into the knee joint. The prescriber has ordered intravenous factor VIIa [NovoSeven RT]. A nursing student wants to know why this patient is not receiving factor VIII. Which statement by the nurse is correct?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When patients develop antibodies against factor VIII, activated factor VII is used, because it has the same actions as factor VIII. Patients with severe hemophilia A have a 20% to 30% likelihood of developing antibodies to factor VIII and the risk of inhibitor development is unusually high in African American and Hispanic patients, so this patient has an increased risk. Factor VIIa is not stronger than factor VIII. It is not used for prophylaxis only. Immune tolerance therapy describes the use of repeated administration of factor replacement products to eliminate inhibitor production.

A Nurse Is Caring for an African American Patient with Severe