Test Bank - Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (7th Edition by Amy Karch)

A 17-year-old male patient with athlete’s foot is extremely upset that he cannot get rid of it. He calls the clinic and asks the nurse whether the doctor can give him an antibiotic to cure the infection. What should the nurse include in the explanation of treatment for fungal infections? A) Fungi differ from bacteria in that the fungus has flexible cell walls that allow for free transfer into and out of the cell. B) Protective layers contain sterols, which change the membrane permeability. C) The composition of the protective layers of the fungal cell makes the organism resistant to antibiotics. D) Fungi cell walls contain Candida, which makes the cells rigid. Ans: C Feedback: The nurse should tell the patient that the composition of the protective layers of the fungal cell makes the organism resistant to antibiotics so that antibiotics would not have any positive effect. Fungi do differ from bacteria, but the fungus has rigid cell walls that allow for free transfer in and out of the cell. The protective layers contain ergosterol, not Candida, that helps keep the cell wall rigid, not permeable.