Emerging bacterial pathogensDownloads

A 28-year-old man presents to his primary care provider complaining of intermittent stomach pain, non-bloody diarrhea, and weight loss for the last 3 months. He has occasional abdominal pain and fever. This condition makes studying difficult. He has tried omeprazole and dietary changes with no improvement. Past medical history is significant for occasional pain in the wrists and knees for several years. He takes ibuprofen for pain relief. His temperature is 38°C (100.4°F). On mental status examination, short-term memory is impaired. Attention and concentration are reduced. Examination shows no abnormalities or tenderness of the wrists or knees. There are no abnormalities on heart and lung examinations. Abdominal examination is normal. Upper endoscopy shows normal stomach mucosa but in the duodenum, there is pale yellow mucosa with erythema and ulcerations. Biopsies show infiltration of the lamina propria with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive macrophages. Which of the following best explains these findings?

A 30-year-old woman comes to the emergency department because of fever, watery diarrhea, and abdominal cramping for the past 24 hours. She recently went to an international food fair. Her temperature is 39°C (102.2°F). Physical examination shows increased bowel sounds. Stool cultures grow gram-positive, spore-forming, anaerobic rods that produce alpha toxin. The responsible organism also causes which of the following physical examination findings?