Which laboratory test will the nurse use to determine whether filgrastim (Neupogen) is effective for a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia who is receiving chemotherapy?

A. Prolonged bleeding or easy bruising is a characteristic feature of hemophilia, a genetic
disorder characterized by deficient or defective blood clotting proteins, leading to impaired blood clotting and prolonged bleeding after injury or trauma.
B. Excessive blood clotting is not a characteristic feature of hemophilia; rather, it is the opposite.
Hemophilia is characterized by a deficiency in clotting factors, which results in impaired clot formation.
C. Hemophilia does not typically result in increased platelet count. Platelets are involved in the initial stages of blood clotting, but hemophilia primarily affects clotting factor proteins.
D. Delayed wound healing is not a characteristic feature of hemophilia. Hemophilia primarily affects blood clotting, leading to prolonged bleeding, but it does not directly affect wound
healing processes.

A. Reticulocyte count: Reticulocyte count measures immature red blood cells and is not the primary measure for the effectiveness of filgrastim, which is used to boost white blood cells.
B. White blood count / Absolute neutrophil count: Filgrastim (Neupogen) is used to increase white blood cells, specifically neutrophils. Therefore, monitoring the white blood count (WBC) and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) is the appropriate way to determine the effectiveness of the drug.
C. Total lymphocyte count: While lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell, filgrastim primarily affects neutrophils, making WBC/ANC a better indicator.
D. Platelet count: Filgrastim does not directly impact platelet production, so platelet count is not the primary measure of its effectiveness.