The nurse assumes care of a patient who has myasthenia gravis and notes that a dose of neostigmine (Prostigmin) due 1 hour prior was not given. The nurse will anticipate the patient to exhibit which symptoms?

A) The blood cells will migrate to the bone marrow:
While the bone marrow is responsible for producing red blood cells, dehydration and hypertonicity of the blood would not cause the red blood cells to migrate to the bone marrow. Migration of blood cells typically refers to white blood cells moving toward sites of infection or inflammation, not a response to dehydration.

B) The red cells will precipitate out of circulation:
Red blood cells do not precipitate out of circulation due to dehydration or hypertonic conditions. Instead, dehydration causes a shift in water balance that leads to changes in the shape and function of the red blood cells. Precipitation of cells is not a physiological response in this context.

C) They will swell and eventually rupture:
In conditions of hypertonicity, where the concentration of solutes (such as sodium) in the blood is higher than normal, red blood cells actually shrink, not swell. When blood is hypertonic, water moves out of the red blood cells into the extracellular space to balance the osmotic pressure, leading to cell shrinkage. Cells only swell in hypotonic conditions, when water moves into the cell.

D) The cells will shrink and shrivel, decreasing their oxygen-carrying ability:
When the body becomes dehydrated, the blood becomes hypertonic (more concentrated), leading to a shift of water out of the red blood cells to try to balance the osmotic gradient. As a result, the red blood cells shrink and shrivel. This shrinkage can impair their ability to carry oxygen effectively, as the cells may become more rigid and less flexible, making it difficult for them to navigate through small blood vessels and perform gas exchange in the lungs and tissues.

A) A 41-year-old man with kidney stones:
Kidney stones primarily affect the urinary system, and while the kidneys play a role in drug excretion, kidney stones themselves do not directly interfere with drug metabolism. Drug metabolism occurs mainly in the liver, so alterations due to kidney stones would be less likely. The liver is where most drug metabolism takes place, so drug metabolism in this case would likely be unaffected by kidney stones.

B) A 62-year-old woman with acute renal failure:
Acute renal failure impacts the kidneys' ability to filter and excrete drugs, but it doesn't directly affect the liver's ability to metabolize drugs. Renal failure can lead to drug accumulation due to decreased clearance, but metabolism (primarily liver function) is not usually altered unless the patient also has hepatic dysfunction.

C) A 35-year-old woman with cervical cancer:
Cervical cancer itself does not directly affect drug metabolism. While cancer treatments like chemotherapy or radiation therapy can affect liver and kidney function (which could impact drug metabolism), cervical cancer itself does not typically alter the metabolic pathways that drugs undergo in the body.

D) A 50-year-old man with cirrhosis of the liver:
Cirrhosis of the liver significantly impacts the liver's ability to metabolize drugs. The liver is the primary organ responsible for drug metabolism, and cirrhosis can lead to a decreased ability to break down medications, potentially resulting in drug toxicity or suboptimal therapeutic effects.