Chapter 12  Antiprotozoal Agents

Chapter 12  Antiprotozoal Agents

Complete Chapter Questions And Answers
 

Sample Questions

1. The patient is having an acute malarial attack with chills and fever. The nurse knows chills and fever
are caused by what?

A) Formation of sporozoites into the system

B) Rupture of red blood cells due to invasion of merozoites

C) Invasion of the tsetse fly into the central nervous system

D) Release of amastigotes into the blood vessels

Ans: B

Feedback:

The chills and fever associated with an acute malarial attack are caused by the rupture of red blood
cells containing merozoites. These symptoms are related to the pyrogenic effects of the protozoa and
the toxic effects of the red blood cell components on the system. The formation of sporozoites occurs in
the stomach of the mosquito when the male and female gametocytes mate and produce a zygote.
Invasion of the tsetse fly causes trypanosomiasis, which affects the central nervous system. The release
of amastigotes occurs in leishmaniasis, which is caused by the sand fly and is part of a cyclic pattern
that causes serious skin lesions.

2. The nurse is caring for a patient of Greek descent who plans to travel to an area of the world in which
malaria is endemic. What should this patient be tested for before administering antimalarial
medications?

A) Tay-Sachs​ disease

B) Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency

C) Plasmodium

D) Penicillin allergy

Ans: B

Feedback:

Patients of Mediterranean descent, including Greeks, are more likely to have a G6PD deficiency. When
patients with this deficiency take primaquine, chloroquine, or quinine, an acute hemolytic crisis may
occur. Patients of Mediterranean descent should be tested for G6PD deficiency before any antimalarial

Test Bank – Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (7th Edition by Amy Karch) 189

drugs are prescribed. Tay-Sachs​ disease is a disorder seen in those of middle-eastern descent that
causes death of the child by age 5. Plasmodium is the genus strain that causes malaria. Penicillin allergy
has no connection to this situation.

3. The nurse is caring for a patient who is being treated with quinine (Qualaquin) for drug-resistant
malaria. The nurse will monitor the patient for cinchonism that will present with what manifestations?

A) Diarrhea, nausea, and fever

B) Yellowing of the sclera and skin

C) Tremors and ataxia

D) Vomiting, tinnitus, and vertigo

Ans: D

Feedback:

Patients with cinchonism or quinine toxicity may complain of tinnitus, headache, dizziness, nausea,
fever, tremors, and visual disturbances. Diarrhea, yellowing of the sclera or skin, and ataxia are not
associated with cinchonism.

4. Patients receiving chloroquine (Aralen Phosphate) for malaria prophylaxis should receive patient
teaching from the nurse, which includes instructions to receive what regularly?

A) Cardiovascular studies

B) Eye exams

C) Immunizations

D) Pulmonary studies

Ans: B

Feedback:

Chloroquine is associated with visual disturbances and a patient receiving this drug should receive
regular ophthalmic exams. Heart and lung toxicity is not associated with chloroquine use.
Immunizations are not associated with chloroquine use.

5. A 28-year-old woman is planning to be part of a mission team going to Central Africa. She will take
mefloquine (Lariam) once a week, beginning 1 week before traveling to Africa until 4 weeks after
leaving Africa. What precaution will the nurse teach this patient is needed?

Test Bank – Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (7th Edition by Amy Karch) 190

A) ​Avoid excessive weight gain.​

B) ​Have regular cancer screening.​

C) ​Use contraceptives to avoid pregnancy.​

D) ​Stop the medication if diabetes is diagnosed.​

Ans: C

Feedback:

Mefloquine is teratogenic and should be avoided during pregnancy. The nurse will want to determine
whether a possibility exists that the patient is pregnant and warn about the need to avoid pregnancy for
2 months after completing therapy. Avoiding weight gain and having regular cancer screenings are
good preventive care but not associated with mefloquine. This medication is not contraindicated in
patients with diabetes.