The nurse is caring for an older adult patient. A family member of the patient seems to frequently catch colds. Which response is best?
a. "After the age of 60, the plasma volume decreases so there is less infection fighting ability."
b. "Bone marrow activity decreases by about 50% with aging, which lowers the immune response to infection."
c. "The older adult's blood is more prone to clotting, so infection-fighting cells don't get to the source of infection quickly."
d. "His antibody response to vaccines is overactive."
B
The older adult patient is more prone to infection due to the decrease in bone marrow activity, which in turn reduces the immune response. Plasma volume does decrease after age of 60, but the concern is decreased blood reserve volume in case of blood loss, not infection. The older adult's blood is more prone to clotting due to platelet aggregation and alterations in clotting activity; this increases the risk for problems related to thrombosis, not infection. Lastly, the older adult's antibody response to vaccines is decreased.
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