Question

a nurse provides care for a diverse population of clients on a busy acute medicine unit. which client is likely the most susceptible to infection?

a 55 - year - old client who developed acute kidney failure because of poorly controlled diabetes

a 70 - year - old client who has been diagnosed with polycythemia (excess red blood cell production)

a 39 - year - old client who has been admitted because their hiv has recently developed into aids

a 27 - year - old client who was admitted in hyperglycemic crisis (high blood glucose) and who has subsequently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes

Explanation:

• The client with AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) has a severely compromised immune system. HIV attacks CD4+ T - cells, which are crucial for the immune response. As HIV progresses to AIDS, the number of these cells is drastically reduced, leaving the body highly vulnerable to a wide range of infections.
• In acute kidney failure (even due to diabetes), while there may be some metabolic imbalances, the immune system is not as profoundly affected as in AIDS.
• Polycythemia mainly affects blood viscosity due to excess red blood cells and does not directly lead to a major immune - system impairment.
• A client with type 1 diabetes in hyperglycemic crisis may have some immune - function alterations due to high blood sugar (glucose can impair phagocyte function), but it is not as severe as the immune - system collapse in AIDS.

Answer:

a 39 - year - old client who has been admitted because their HIV has recently developed into AIDS.