Microbiology Basic and Clinical Principles Test Bank Related

Review Microbiology Basic and Clinical Principles Test Bank related questions and content

A 45-year-old patient, a sailor, was hospitalized on the 2nd day of the disease. A week ago he returned from India. Complains of body temperature of 41oC, severe headache, dyspnea, cough with frothy rusty sputum. Objectively: the patient is pale, mucous membranes are cyanotic, breathing rate - 24/min, tachycardia is present. In lungs: diminished breath sounds, moist rales over both lungs, crepitation. What is the most likely diagnosis?

  • A. Pneumonic plaque
  • B. Miliary tuberculosis
  • C. Influenza
  • D. Ornithosis
Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The most likely diagnosis is A: Pneumonic plague. The patient's symptoms align with the presentation of pneumonic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, dyspnea, cough with bloody sputum, and cyanosis. The characteristic bubonic plague lymphadenopathy may be absent in the pneumonic form. The patient's recent travel history to India also raises suspicion, as plague is endemic in some regions. The other choices can be ruled out based on the patient's symptoms and presentation. Miliary tuberculosis typically presents with diffuse miliary nodules on imaging. Influenza typically presents with more generalized symptoms and does not usually cause rusty sputum. Ornithosis is caused by Chlamydophila psittaci and usually presents with pneumonia-like symptoms after exposure to infected birds.