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Cindy Fairis

Cindy Fairis is brought to your office by her mother because of a cough. She used to cough just in the morning, but in the last two weeks she has started to cough all day long and be very tired. Lately she has started coughing up greenish-grey sputum. When Cindy was 2 months old, she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. She is 11 now.

Question 1 - Single Best Answer

Is this scenario unusual for a child with cystic fibrosis?   Bugs Database

A) yes
B) no

Question 2 - Single Best Answer

The cough is most likely the direct result of?   Bugs Database

A) bacterial infection
B) viral infection
C) no infection, its just the nature of the thick mucous produced by individuals with cystic fibrosis

Question 3 - Single Best Answer

What bacteria are most likely to be infecting this child?   Bugs Database

A) E. coli or Haemophilus influenzae
B) Haemophilus influenzae or Staphylococcus aureus
C) E. coli or Streptococcus pyogenes
D) Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa
E) Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Moraxella catarrhalis

Question 4 - Single Best Answer

What type of a bacterium is Pseudomonas?   Bugs Database

A) Gram positive coccus
B) Gram positive rod
C) Gram negative coccus
D) Gram negative rod
E) spirochete

Question 5 - Single Best Answer

Which of the following might have led to Cindy's diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (c.f.) at two months of age?   Bugs Database

A) offensive, greasy stools and salty taste when kissed
B) sterility in a male or delayed puberty
C) colonization with Pseudomonas aeruginosa
D) meconium ileus
E) all of the above

Question 6 - Single Best Answer

What is the underlying defect in cystic fibrosis?   Bugs Database

A) abnormal chloride channel
B) complement deficiency
C) IgA deficiency
D) pancreatic insufficiency
E) ciliostasis and immobile spermatozoa

Question 7 - Single Best Answer

How is pseudomonas infection/carriage determined?   Bugs Database

A) anaerobic growth on blood agar
B) aerobic growth on blood or MacConkey agar
C) special Pseudomonagar
D) serum antibody to exotoxin A
E) growth in human macrophages

When Cindy's sputum was streaked on blood agar and incubated aerobically, large colonies with a green pigmentation and a grape-like odor were isolated.

Question 8 - Single Best Answer

The identity of the bacterium isolated is?   Bugs Database

A) Staphylococcus aureus
B) Haemophilus influenzae
C) Pseudomonas aeruginosa
D) E. coli
E) none of the above

Question 9 - Single Best Answer

What confirmatory test could be done?   Bugs Database

A) catalase
B) coagulase
C) oxidase
D) A disk
E) P disk

Question 10 - Single Best Answer

What is unusual about the metabolism of Pseudomonas?   Bugs Database

A) it has no Krebs cycle enzymes
B) it cannot undergo fermentation
C) it has RNA as its genetic material
D) it has an elementary body and a reticulate body
E) it is an energy parasite so is obligately intracellular

You decide to treat Cindy with an aminoglycoside plus the newest of the cephalosporins.

Question 11 - Single Best Answer

The drugs should be administered?   Bugs Database

A) in smaller than normal doses
B) in higher than normal doses
C) in normal doses

Question 12 - Single Best Answer

Will Cindy ever be free of the Pseudomonas that is causing her problem?   Bugs Database

A) yes, the antibiotics will take care of the problem
B) no, she will be colonized for life

Question 13 - Single Best Answer

Besides cystic fibrosis patients, what other population is especially susceptible to Pseudomonas infections?   Bugs Database

A) sickle cell anemics
B) veterinarians
C) hospitalized patients
D) gardeners
E) bridge players

Question 14 - Single Best Answer

What is one of the most common sites of infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients without cystic fibrosis?   Bugs Database

A) burns
B) genitals
C) deep puncture wounds
D) mouth
E) heart

Question 15 - Single Best Answer

In hospitals, what is the usual reservoir of Pseudomonas?   Bugs Database

A) sinks
B) flower pots
C) mops
D) respiratory therapy machines
E) all of the above

 Location: http://medinfo.ufl.edu/year2/mmid/a40a.html
  Updated: October 6, 2005

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