A 50-year-old woman is discovered to have metastatic breast cancer. One week after receiving her first dose of chemotherapy, she develops bacterial pneumonia. Which of the following best explains this patient's susceptibility to bacterial infection?
The impoance of protection afforded by acute inflammatory cells is emphasized by the frequency and severity of infections in persons with defective phagocytic cells. The most common defect is iatrogenic neutropenia secondary to cancer chemotherapy. Chemotherapy would not be expected to deplete serum levels of complement or alter the respiratory burst within activated neutrophils .
Depletion of serum complement
Impaired neutrophil respiratory burst
Inhibition of clotting factor activation
Neutropenia
Basic Concepts and Vascular changes of Acute Inflammation