An 18-month-old boy presents to the emergency department for malaise. The boy’s parents report worsening fatigue for 3 days with associated irritability and anorexia. The patient’s newborn screening revealed a point mutation in the beta-globin gene but the patient has otherwise been healthy since birth. On physical exam, his temperature is 102.4°F (39.1°C), blood pressure is 78/42 mmHg, pulse is 124/min, and respirations are 32/min. The child is tired-appearing and difficult to soothe. Laboratory testing is performed and reveals the following: Serum: Na+: 137 mEq/L Cl-: 100 mEq/L K+: 4.4 mEq/L HCO3-: 24 mEq/L Urea nitrogen: 16 mg/dL Creatinine: 0.9 mg/dL Glucose: 96 mg/dL Leukocyte count: 19,300/mm^3 with normal differential Hemoglobin: 7.8 g/dL Hematocrit: 21% Mean corpuscular volume: 82 um^3 Platelet count: 324,000/mm^3 Reticulocyte index: 3.6% Which of the following is the most likely causative organism for this patient's presentation?
AStreptococcus pneumoniae
BListeria monocytogenes
CHaemophilus influenzae
DNeisseria meningitidis
ESalmonella
A 24-year-old woman presents to the ED with symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease despite being previously treated with azithromycin for chlamydial infection. Based on your clinical understanding about the epidemiology of PID, you decide to obtain a gram stain which shows a gram-negative diplococci. What is the next step in order to confirm the identity of the organism described?
APerform an RT-PCR
BCulture in TCBS agar
CCulture in Thayer-Martin media
DObtain an acid fast stain
ECulture in Bordet-Gengou agar
A 21-year-old Cambodian patient with a history of rheumatic heart disease presents to his primary care physician for a routine check-up. He reports being compliant with monthly penicillin G injections since being diagnosed with rheumatic fever at age 15. He denies any major side effects from the treatment, except for the inconvenience of organizing transportation to a physician's office every month. On exam, the patient is found to have a loud first heart sound and a mid-diastolic rumble that is best heard at the apex. Which of the following is the next best step?
ASwitch to intramuscular cefotaxime, which has fewer side effects
BContinue intramuscular penicillin therapy
CStop penicillin therapy
DStop penicillin therapy in 4 years
EDecrease frequency of injections to bimonthly
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