Which client is at the greatest risk for developing an intracellular pathogen infection?

• A. A patient with impaired cell-mediated immunity due to HIV infection
• B. A patient with a history of allergic rhinitis
• C. A patient taking broad-spectrum antibiotics for a urinary tract infection
• D. A patient with iron-deficiency anemia

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand what intracellular pathogens are: these are microorganisms that can live and multiply inside the host's cells, often evading the immune system's defenses.
2. Recognize that cell-mediated immunity, primarily involving T cells, is crucial for controlling and eliminating intracellular pathogens because antibodies (humoral immunity) are less effective inside cells.
3. Analyze each client condition in terms of their immune system status: HIV infection impairs cell-mediated immunity by targeting CD4+ T cells, allergic rhinitis is an allergic condition without major immune suppression, broad-spectrum antibiotics affect bacterial flora but not directly cell-mediated immunity, and iron-deficiency anemia affects oxygen transport but not specifically cell-mediated immunity.
4. Conclude that the client with impaired cell-mediated immunity due to HIV infection is at the greatest risk because their immune system cannot effectively control intracellular pathogens.
5. Summarize that identifying risk for intracellular infections involves understanding the role of cell-mediated immunity and how different conditions affect this arm of the immune response.