Infectious Diseases Flashcards
What is the most common isolated organism from animal bites?
Pasteurella multocida
What is the management of an animal bite?
- Clean wound
- Prescribe co-amoxiclav (if penicillin allergy prescribe doxycycline and metronidazole)
What is the most common cause of infective endocarditis?
Staph aureus
What is infective endocarditis?
Infection of the inner surfaces of the heart, usually the valves
What are the symptoms of infective endocarditis?
- Fever
- New or changed heart murmur
- Night sweats
- Dyspnoea
- Splinter haemorrhages
- Weight loss
- Splenomegaly
- Clubbing
What is the classic presentation of shingles?
Burning pain over the affected dermatome for 2-3 days (sometimes interfering with sleep). The rash will then develop (erythematous to start, then vesicular). The rash has a dermatome distribution that does not cross the midline.
What is shingles?
Herpes zoster infection is an acute, unilateral blistering rash caused by reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus.
What happens to the varicella-zoster virus after chicken pox?
It lies dormant in the dorsal root or cranial nerve ganglia.
Who is at highest risk of shingles?
- Older patients
- HIV patients
- People with immunosuppressive conditions
What are the most commonly affected dermatomes in shingles?
T1-L2
What is the management of shingles in patients who are not immunocompromised?
1st line = oral antiviral therapy (famciclovir or valaciclovir)
- NSAIDs (ibuprofen and paracetamol) and calamine topical lotion for analgesia
- More severe pain give opioid analgesics
What is the management of shingles in patients who are immunocompromised?
1st line = oral antiviral therapy (aciclovir or famciclovir or valaciclovir)
- NSAIDs (ibuprofen and paracetamol) and calamine topical lotion for analgesia
- More severe pain give opioid analgesics
- 2nd line = IV aciclovir
What are the complications of shingles?
- Post-herpetic neuralgia
- Herpes zoster ophthalmicus
- Herpes zoster oticus (Ramsay Hunt syndrome)
What is the mechanism of action of macrolide antibiotics?
They inhibit protein synthesis
Erythromycin, clarithromycin and azithromycin are all examples of _________ antibiotics.
Macrolide
What are the two most common causes of acute enteritis?
Campylobacter jejuni followed by campylobacter coli
Where do most campylobacter jejuni infections come from?
Consuming poultry
What is campylobacter jejuni also linked to?
Guillain-Barré syndrome
What are the main symptoms of a campylobacter infection?
Diarrhoea and abdominal pain
What is the treatment for campylobacter infection?
Fluid replacement therapy
What is chlamydia proctitis?
Inflammation of the lining of the rectum caused by the bacteria chlamydia trachomatis
What is shigellosis?
A form of diarrhoeal disease caused by the enterobacteria shigella
What kind of bacteria are shigella?
Aerobic, non-motile, non-lactose-fermenting gram-negative rods
How is shigellosis spread?
Faecal-oral contact and contaminated food and water
When do you use antibiotics in the treatment of shigella?
When the patient has bloody diarrhoea and abdominal cramping
What is the first-line antibiotic used to treat shigellosis?
Ciprofloxacin
What is ascending lymphangitis and how does it present?
Inflammation of the lymphatic channels that occurs due to infection distal to the channel.
Presents as ascending erythematous line along the lymph vessel with swelling and itching
What is filariasis?
An infectious tropical disease caused by thread-like parasitic round worms associated with elephantiasis (oedema with thickening of the skin and underlying tissues when the parasite blocks lymph vessels)
