A nurse is administering analgesia to a 77-year-old female patient who has been diagnosed with herpes zoster (shingles). Which of the following statements about the patient's diagnosis is most accurate?
A) The disease was most likely contracted sexually, earlier in life.
B) Antibiotics, coupled with pain control, will be the most likely course of treatment.
C) Age-related changes to the immune system likely made the woman particularly susceptible.
D) The infectious process exists in the brain even though symptoms are most often felt peripherally.
C
Feedback:
Age-related changes to immune system make older adults particularly susceptible to shingles. Shingles is not considered a sexually transmitted infection, while antibiotics are ineffective, given its viral etiology. The dorsal root ganglion, not the brain, is the site of infection.
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