Common Infectious Diseases Flashcards
7 cards from real Internal Medicine Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Common Infectious Diseases flashcards as text
A 70-year-old nursing home resident presents with confusion, fever, and new urinary incontinence. Urinalysis shows > 100,000 CFU/mL of E. coli. What is the appropriate management?
Answer: Treat with antibiotics immediately given symptomatic bacteriuria
Symptomatic UTI with systemic signs (confusion, fever) in an elderly patient warrants antibiotic treatment, as opposed to asymptomatic bacteriuria which does not.
A 55-year-old diabetic patient develops painless black eschar on the nasal turbinates with orbital swelling and vision changes after DKA. Which organism is responsible?
Answer: Mucor/Rhizopus species
Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is caused by Mucor/Rhizopus species and classically presents in diabetics during DKA, causing angioinvasion with characteristic black necrotic eschar.
Which of the following is the most appropriate empiric regimen for a patient with severe community-acquired pneumonia admitted to the ICU?
Answer: Beta-lactam plus macrolide or respiratory fluoroquinolone
Severe CAP requiring ICU admission should be treated with a beta-lactam (e.g., ceftriaxone) combined with either a macrolide or respiratory fluoroquinolone per IDSA/ATS guidelines.
A patient is diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis. Which drug in the standard RIPE regimen is associated with optic neuritis as a dose-dependent side effect?
Answer: Ethambutol
Ethambutol causes dose-dependent optic neuritis presenting with decreased visual acuity and loss of red-green color discrimination; baseline visual testing is required.
A 30-year-old man presents with urethral discharge and dysuria. Gram stain shows gram-negative intracellular diplococci. In addition to treating gonorrhea, empiric treatment for which co-infection is mandatory?
Answer: Chlamydia trachomatis
Co-infection with Chlamydia trachomatis is so common with gonorrhea that dual therapy (ceftriaxone + doxycycline or azithromycin) is always recommended.
Which finding on echocardiogram is most consistent with infective endocarditis?
Answer: Oscillating intracardiac mass (vegetation) on a valve
An oscillating intracardiac mass (vegetation) on a valve or implanted material is the hallmark echocardiographic finding in infective endocarditis per Duke criteria.
A 25-year-old sexually active woman presents with right upper quadrant pain, fever, and cervical motion tenderness. Liver enzymes are mildly elevated. Which diagnosis best explains all findings?
Answer: Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome
Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome is perihepatitis occurring as a complication of pelvic inflammatory disease (typically chlamydia or gonorrhea), causing RUQ pain with perihepatic inflammation.