Parasites

Question 1

Giardia lamblia

Answer 1

Cause a foul-smelling fatty diarrhea, along with bloating and flatulence. Tranmitted via cysts in water. Trophozoite form looks like face with flagella.

Treat with metronidazole

Question 2

Entamoeba histolitica

Answer 2

Causes a bloody diarrhea. Amoebas ingest RBCs. Can also cause liver abscess with a anchovy-paste consistency. Transmitted by cysts in water.

Treat with metronidazole, iodoquinol if asymptomatic

Question 3

Cryptosporidium

Answer 3

Causes a profused watery diarrhea. Can devatate immunocompromised (AIDS).

Weakly acid fast.

Treat with nitazoxanide in immunocompetant

Question 4

Toxoplasma gondii

Answer 4

Causes ring enhancing brain abscesses in HIV.

Can also cause congenital toxoplasmosis which is marked by chorioretinitis, hydrocephalus, and intracranial calcifications.

Infection via cysts in meat or oocytes in cat feces. Crosses placenta

Treat with sulfadiazine +pyrimethamine

Question 5

Naegleria fowleri

Answer 5

Causes rapidly fatal meningoencephalitis. Swimming in fresh water, penentrate cribiform plate. Diagnosis with amoebas in spinal fluid.

Treat with amphotericin B

Question 6

Trypanosoma brucei

Answer 6

Causes african sleeping sickness. Two forms :rhodiense and gambiense. Rhodiense is worse.

Causes enlarged lymph nodes, recurrent fever (antigenic variation), somnolence, coma.

Gotten via tse tse fly via painful bites.

Treat with suramin and melarsoprol

Question 7

Plasmodium falciparum

Answer 7

Causes malaria with headache, fever, anemia, splenomegaly. Infects red blood cells that can enter brain and clog capillaries. Irregular fever patterns. Treat with chloroquine. Mefloquine or atovaquone/proguanil if resistant.

Question 8

Plasmodium vivax/ovale

Answer 8

Causes malaria with headache, anemia, fever every other day (tertian). Dormant form in liver so must add primaquine to chloroquine to prevent recurrence. Test for g6pd deficiency first.

Question 9

Plasmodium malariae

Answer 9

Causes quartan fever (every 3 days)

Question 10

Babesia

Answer 10

Causes babesiosis: fever and hemolytic anemia. transmitted by ixodes scapularis.

Maltese cross confirms diagnosis.

Treat with atovaqone and azithromycin.

Question 11

Trypanozoma cruzi

Answer 11

Causes chagas disease: dilated cardiomyopathy, megacolon, pseudoachalasia.

Question 12

Trypanozoma cruzi

Answer 12

Causes chagas disease: dilated cardiomyopathy, megacolon, pseudoachalasia. Transmitted by reduuvid bug with a painless bite.

Treat with benznidazole or nifurtimox

Question 13

Leishmania donovani

Answer 13

Causes visceral leishmaniasis. Spiking fevers, hepatosplenomegaly, pancytopenia.

Transmitted by sandfly.

Treat with sodium stibogluconate/amphotericin B

Question 14

Trichomonas vaginalis

Answer 14

Causes green frothy discharge, sexually transmitted only (can’t form cysts). Treat with metronidazole, treat partner too.

vaginitis (strawberry cervix)

Question 15

Enterobius Vermicularis

Answer 15

Most common worm infection in US. Causes anal pruritus. Diagnose with scotch tape test. Treat with bendazoles

Question 16

Ascaris lumbricoides

Answer 16

giant roundworm. Fecal oral transmission. Most common worm in world. Intestinal infection, obstruciton, lung irritation. Treat with bendazoles

Question 17

Strongyloides stercoralis

Answer 17

Transmitted through skin, causes intestinal infection with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, epigastric pain. treat with albendazole or ivermectin

Question 18

Ancylostoma duodenale/necator americanus

Answer 18

Hookworms that penetrate through skin attach in intestines, can cause microcytic anemia. Treat with bendazoles.

Question 19

Onchocerca volvulus

Answer 19

Causes river blindness. Transmitted by river blackfly. Causes black skin nodules too. Treat with ivermectin.

Question 20

Loa loa

Answer 20

Transmitted by mango fly, horse fly, deer fly. Causes worms in conjuntiva. Treat with diethylcarbamazine

Question 21

Wuchereria bancrofti

Answer 21

Transmitted by mosquito and blocks lymphatics causing elephantiasis 9mo-1yr after bite. Treat with diethylcarbamazine.

Question 22

Toxocara canis

Answer 22

Fecal oral tranmission. Causes visceral larva migrans

Question 23

Trichenella spiralis

Answer 23

Gotten from undercooked pork. Enters into muscle. Causes periorbital edema too.

Question 24

Trichenella spiralis

Answer 24

Gotten from undercooked pork. Enters into muscle. Causes periorbital edema too.

Question 25

Taenia Solium

Answer 25

From undercooked meat. can cause intestinal infection if larvae are consumed, can cause cysticercosis/neurocysticercosis (seizure). Treat with praziquantel (add albendazole for neurocysticercosis)

Question 26

Diphyllobothrium latum

Answer 26

from undercooked fish, causes B12 deficiency. Treat with praziquantel

Question 27

Echinococcus granulosis

Answer 27

Ingestion of eggs from dog feces. hydatid cysts in liver, anaphylaxis if antigens released. Eggshell calcification in liver

Question 28

Schistosoma

Answer 28

Snails are host – penetrate skins. Cause liver and spleen granulomas and can cause squamous cell carinoma of bladder with painless hematuria treat with praziquantel

Question 29

Chlonorchis sinensis

Answer 29

From undercooked fish, causes biliary tract obstruction, pigmented gallstones, and cholangiocarcinoma. Treat with praziquantel.

Question 30

What tapeworms cause portal hypertension

Answer 30

Schistosoma mansoni/japonicum.