ITE Infectious Disease Management Questions and Answers

Question 1

A 58-year-old male with acute myeloid leukemia is undergoing induction chemotherapy.
He develops a fever of 39.2°C (102.6°F) and his absolute neutrophil count is 150 cells/mm³.
He is hemodynamically stable with no clear source of infection on initial examination.
According to IDSA guidelines, which of the following is the most appropriate initial empiric antibiotic regimen?

Accepted Answer

Piperacillin-tazobactam

Answer

Ceftriaxone

Answer

Vancomycin plus Cefepime

Answer

Metronidazole plus Ciprofloxacin

Question 2

According to the 2021 IDSA and SHEA focused update, which of the following is the preferred first-line agent for an initial episode of non-severe *Clostridioides difficile* infection?

Accepted Answer

Oral Fidaxomicin

Answer

Oral Metronidazole

Answer

Oral Vancomycin

Answer

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

Question 3

A 72-year-old man with a history of alcoholism is brought to the emergency department with a 24-hour history of high fever, severe headache, nuchal rigidity, and confusion. A lumbar puncture is planned but will be delayed for a CT scan of the head. Which of the following empiric antimicrobial regimens should be administered immediately?

Accepted Answer

Vancomycin, ceftriaxone, and ampicillin

Answer

Vancomycin plus ceftriaxone

Answer

Ceftriaxone plus ampicillin

Answer

Meropenem monotherapy

Question 4

A 42-year-old individual with HIV is found to have a CD4+ T-cell count of 85 cells/µL and is seropositive for *Toxoplasma gondii*. According to the CDC and NIH guidelines, which of the following prophylactic medications is indicated?

Accepted Answer

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole

Answer

Azithromycin

Answer

Valganciclovir

Answer

Itraconazole

Question 5

A 35-year-old person who injects drugs presents with a fever of 38.8°C (101.8°F) and a new holosystolic murmur. Blood cultures are drawn, and an echocardiogram is ordered. According to the modified Duke criteria, which of the following findings constitutes a major criterion for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis?

Accepted Answer

Echocardiogram showing an oscillating intracardiac mass on a valve

Answer

Fever >38.0°C

Answer

Presence of Janeway lesions

Answer

Positive blood culture for *Staphylococcus epidermidis* from a single sample

Question 6

A 29-year-old nurse undergoes routine employee health screening and is found to have a positive tuberculin skin test (15 mm induration). She is asymptomatic and her chest X-ray is negative for active disease. According to current CDC guidelines, which of the following is a preferred short-course regimen for treating latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI)?

Accepted Answer

Isoniazid and rifapentine once weekly for 3 months

Answer

Isoniazid daily for 9 months

Answer

Ethambutol daily for 12 months

Answer

Levofloxacin daily for 6 months