The nurse is caring for a patient who developed hemolytic anemia related to the administration of penicillin and asks what this condition is. What is the most appropriate response by the nurse?
a. "An allergy to penicillin is destroying your platelets for unknown reasons."
b. "An antigen–antibody reaction is causing destruction of red blood cells."
c. "Allergens are invading the bone marrow and interfering with red blood cell production."
d. "The red blood cells are being produced inappropriately."
ANS: B
Autoantibodies, for no known reason, are produced that attach to red blood cells (RBCs) and cause them to either lyse or agglutinate (clump).
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