A nurse is caring for a patient diagnosed with thrombocytopenia.
What should the nurse include in the patient education regarding self-care measures?

Choice A rationale:

Encourage the patient to consume NSAIDs for pain relief.

Encouraging the use of NSAIDs for pain relief is not appropriate for patients with thrombocytopenia.

NSAIDs can further increase the risk of bleeding due to their antiplatelet effects.

Therefore, it is crucial to educate patients to avoid NSAIDs.

Choice B rationale:

Teach the patient to avoid alcohol and aspirin.

This is a crucial part of patient education for those with thrombocytopenia.

Alcohol and aspirin can both increase the risk of bleeding, so advising patients to avoid them is essential to minimize bleeding risks.

Choice C rationale:

Suggest regular injections to stimulate platelet production.

While there are treatments available to stimulate platelet production, they are typically prescribed by a healthcare provider based on the patient's specific diagnosis and medical needs.

Suggesting regular injections without medical guidance is not appropriate.

Choice D rationale:

Advise the patient to skip monitoring platelet counts.

Regular monitoring of platelet counts is essential for patients with thrombocytopenia to assess the effectiveness of treatment and identify any potential complications.

Advising the patient to skip monitoring is not appropriate and may lead to undetected issues.

Choice A rationale:

"ITP results from decreased platelet production in the bone marrow." Rationale: This statement is not accurate.

Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) is primarily a disorder of platelet destruction, not decreased production in the bone marrow.

In ITP, autoantibodies target platelets, leading to their destruction by macrophages.

Choice B rationale:

"In ITP, autoantibodies mark platelets for destruction by macrophages." Rationale: This is the correct answer.

ITP is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system produces autoantibodies that attach to platelets, tagging them for destruction by macrophages in the spleen and liver.

Choice C rationale:

"ITP is characterized by impaired cleavage of von Willebrand factor." Rationale: This statement is not accurate.

Impaired cleavage of von Willebrand factor is a characteristic of von Willebrand disease, a different bleeding disorder, not ITP.

Choice D rationale:

"Thrombocytopenia in ITP is triggered by heparin-platelet factor 4 complexes." Rationale: This statement is incorrect.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) involves the formation of antibodies against heparin-platelet factor 4 complexes, leading to platelet activation and a decrease in platelet count.

This is a different condition than ITP.