A bone marrow biopsy can show whether immune cells are being produced in the marrow.
Correct Answer
True
True. A bone marrow biopsy examines the immune cells in the marrow and can identify marrow disease or a cause of a poor immune response.
Category: Immune Assessment
Question 2
When a patient with AIDS has a rising CD4 count on treatment, the patient is reclassified to an earlier stage of HIV infection.
Correct Answer
False
False. HIV staging does not move backward; a patient who has reached AIDS keeps that classification even if the CD4 count rises with treatment.
Category: HIV Care
Question 3
Standard precautions are needed only for patients known to have a bloodborne infection.
Correct Answer
False
False. Standard precautions, including hand hygiene, protective equipment and sharps safety, are used with every patient, because infection status is often unknown.
Category: HIV Prevention
Question 4
Postexposure prophylaxis after a possible HIV exposure should begin as soon as possible.
Correct Answer
True
True. Antiretroviral postexposure prophylaxis works best when started quickly after a possible exposure, which is why a needlestick is reported immediately.
Category: HIV Prevention
Question 5
Primary immunodeficiencies are more common than secondary immunodeficiencies.
Correct Answer
False
False. Secondary immunodeficiencies, caused by other disorders or by treatments such as chemotherapy and corticosteroids, are more common than the rare inherited primary forms.
Category: Secondary Immunodeficiency
Question 6
Some primary immunodeficiencies are not recognized until adulthood.
Correct Answer
True
True. Primary immunodeficiencies are present at birth and usually appear in infancy or childhood, but some are not identified until adulthood.
Category: Primary Immunodeficiency
Question 7
Infections in a person with an immunodeficiency tend to be milder and shorter than usual.
Correct Answer
False
False. Because the immune response is inadequate, infections tend to be more frequent, more severe, recurrent and longer lasting.
Category: Primary Immunodeficiency
Question 8
A deficiency of B cells increases susceptibility to bacterial pneumonia and ear infections.
Correct Answer
True
True. B cells give rise to plasma cells that make antibodies against microorganisms outside cells, so B-cell problems leave patients prone to pneumonia, otitis and other extracellular bacterial infections.
Category: Primary Immunodeficiency
Question 9
Autoimmune disease can affect almost any part of the body.
Correct Answer
True
True. Autoimmune disorders may target a single organ, such as the thyroid, or many systems at once, such as the joints, skin, kidneys and blood vessels in lupus.
Category: Autoimmunity
Question 10
The exact cause of autoimmunity is unknown, but a genetic predisposition is thought to contribute.
Correct Answer
True
True. The underlying cause of the immune system's failure to tell self from nonself is not known, although inherited susceptibility likely plays a role.
Category: Autoimmunity
Question 11
Tenderness over a transplanted organ is an expected drug side effect that does not need to be reported.
Correct Answer
False
False. Tenderness over the transplanted organ can signal rejection and should be reported right away, along with fever, decreased urine output and flu-like symptoms.
Category: Immunosuppressive Therapy
Question 12
HIV can pass from a pregnant person to the fetus across the placenta.
Correct Answer
True
True. Maternal-child transmission of HIV can occur across the placenta, during childbirth or through breast milk.
Category: HIV Prevention
Question 13
Blood transfusion is currently a common route of HIV transmission in the United States.
Correct Answer
False
False. Because donated blood is screened, the risk of acquiring HIV from a transfusion is very low, although it is not zero.
Category: HIV Prevention
Question 14
Embryonic stem cells can develop into any type of body cell.
Correct Answer
True
True. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning they can become any type of body cell, unlike adult stem cells, which form only the cell types of their tissue of origin.
Category: Advances in Immunology
Question 15
White blood cells are produced mainly in the liver.
Correct Answer
False
False. White blood cells, the main cells of the immune response, are produced in the bone marrow and travel in the blood and lymph.
Category: Immune Cells and Organs
Question 16
The cough reflex is a component of acquired immunity.
Correct Answer
False
False. The cough reflex is part of natural, or innate, immunity, which is present at birth and acts immediately against any invader.
Category: Immune Cells and Organs
Question 17
People with HIV now live much longer than in the early years of the epidemic because treatment can control disease progression.
Correct Answer
True
True. Mortality from HIV was far higher in the early epidemic; antiretroviral therapy now suppresses the virus and preserves immune function for many years.
Category: HIV Care
Question 18
Mind-body practices such as massage and yoga may help reduce anxiety in people living with HIV.
Correct Answer
True
True. Complementary approaches such as massage and yoga may lower anxiety, pain and blood pressure and can be used alongside antiretroviral therapy.
Category: HIV Care
Question 19
Live vaccines are recommended for patients with antibody deficiencies to boost their protection.
Correct Answer
False
False. Live vaccines are generally contraindicated in patients with significant antibody deficiencies because the weakened vaccine organism can cause disease; vaccine decisions are made individually with the provider.
Category: Primary Immunodeficiency
Question 20
Immunosuppressive therapy lowers a patient's risk of infection.
Correct Answer
False
False. Immunosuppressive drugs raise infection risk because they dampen the immune response, so patients are taught to report signs of infection promptly.
Category: Immunosuppressive Therapy