07/15/2026
NCLEX QUIZ 2026
Rationale: Chemotherapy suppresses bone marrow function, often causing neutropenia, which significantly reduces the body's ability to fight infections. As a result, even a low-grade fever may be the only early sign of a serious infection or neutropenic sepsis. Because infections can progress rapidly in immunocompromised patients, a fever should be treated as a medical emergency. The nurse should promptly notify the healthcare provider, obtain ordered cultures, and facilitate the rapid administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Delaying evaluation or masking the fever with antipyretics before assessment may postpone diagnosis and increase the risk of severe complications and death.
