Infection, Immunity, & Inflammation: Leukemia Flashcards
type of cancer with uncontrolled production of immature WBCs (usually “blast”) cells in the bone marrow. As a result, the bone marrow becomes overcrowded with immature, nonfunctional cells and production of normal blood cells is greatly decreased.
Leukemia
What are the the two categories of leukemia with respect to cell types?
- lymphocytic or lymphoblastic (from lymphoid pathways)
- myelocytic or myelogenous (from myeloid pathways)
which cells does luekemia where does the cancer most often occur?
stem cells, causing excessive growth of specific type of immature leukocyte
What does it mean when bone marrow is full of blast phase cells?
the cells cannot provide infection prevention
Why is a client with leukemia at increased risk for bleeding?
Reduced levels of fibrinogen and other clotting factors are common in patients with acute leukemia
Clotting time and aPTT is prolonged
Lab values for a patient with acute leukemia are usually:
- decreased hemoglobin and hematocrit
- low platelet count
- abnormal WBC (high, low or normal)
- high with mostly blast = poorer prognosis
What is the definitive test for leukemia?
examination of cells obtained from bone marrow aspiration and biopsy
- phase, chromosome analysis, antigens (tell type of leukemia)
Priority intervention for patients with leukemia:
infection prevention, major cause of death in leukemia patient because the WBCs are immature and cannot function or are depleted from chemo
normal flora overgrows and penetrates the internal environment
autocontamination
organisms from another person or the environment are transmitted to the patient
cross-contamination
these systems decrease the number of airborne pathogens
high efficiency particulate air (HEPA)
diet where any uncooked foods, such as raw fruits and vegetables, are removed from the diet becuase they have large numbers of organisms
minimal bacteria diet
designed to protect a patient from infectious organisms that might be carried by the staff, other patients, or visitors or on droplets in the air or on equipment or materials.
isolation techniques per pts diagnosis
Protective (reverse) isolation
the act of spreading bacteria and viruses from one surface to another. Since bloodborne viruses can live on objects and surfaces for up to a week, germs could be spread when surfaces are not disinfected the right way or if equipment is not cleaned and sterilized between clients.
cross contamination prevention
What is the goal of bone marrow or stem cell transplantation in the treatment of Leukemia?
chemo is given to purge the marrow of leukemic cells, this is lethal to bone marrow, and without replacement of stem cells by transplantation the patient would die of infection** or **hemorrhage
the new cells go to the marrow and begin hematopoiesis**, ideally a **permanent cure
patients receive their own stem cells (which were collected before high-dose therapy)
autologous transplants
stem cells taken from patient’s identical twin
syngeneic transplants
closely HLA-matched sibling or an unrelated but matched donor provides the stem cells
allogeneic transplants
How can stem cells for transplantation be obtained?
- bone marrow harvest
- peripheral stem cell pheresis
- umbilical cord blood stem cell banking
bone marrow transplants are most ideally done following which stage of therapy
- induction, increased doses of chemo, NADIR is reached = ready for transplant