Upper respiratory tract infections Flashcards
What are the five most common causes of the common cold?
- Rhinovirus
- Coronavirus
- Influenza A + B
- Adenovirus
- Parainfluenza
–>REALLY important to distinguish these from GAS!
What’s the incubation period for the common cold?
2-3 days
How do you treat post-nasal drip?
intranasal ipratropium bromide or cromolyn sodium
What are the complications following a rhinovirus infection?
- Nasal symptoms
- Otitis media
- Post URI persistent cough
What are the Sx for Group A beta-hemolytic strep?
- abrupt onset
- prominent sore throat with pain on swallowing
- Systemic illness w/ fever/malaise
- Nasal congestion and cough
- Fever
- Bright red pharynx and tonsils
- tonsillar exudate
- enlarged cervical lymph nodes
The most important three PE findings with GAS:
- cervical lymphadenopathy
- tonsillar exudate
- T>100
What are the symptoms of mono?
- Fever/malaise
- Exudative pharyngitis/laryngitis
- Cervical adenopathy
- Splenomegaly
What are three causes of mono?
- EBV
- CMV
- HIV
What is special on microscopy of an EBV pharyngeal sample?
- atypical lymphocytes
What special serology would you see in mono?
Heterophile antibodies
Symptoms of acute bronchitits
- Cough for weeks
- May or may not have fevers/sputum
- Crackles and wheezes on exam
What bugs can cause acute bronchitis?
- mycoplasma pneumonia
- chlamydia pneumonia
- bordetella pertussis
How can you tell pneumonia versus bronchitis?
CXR is normal in bronchitis
Pneumonia has consolidation
–While bronchitis may or may not have sputum/fever, pneumonia will almost always have a strong, productive cough with high fever
How do you diagnose the different etiologies of bronchitis?
- IgM for mycoplasma pneumonia
2. PCR for pertusis and chlamydia pneumoniae
How do you treat bronchitis?
- Treat cough with dextromethaphan
- Use albuterol for wheezing
- Abx ONLY if pt tested positive for a bug (erythromycin)
