A 20-Year-Old Man Is Brought to the Emergency Department Due

question 697

Multiple Choice

A 20-year-old man is brought to the emergency department due to fever, headache, and neck pain for the last day.  He has no significant medical history.  Temperature is 38.7 C (101.7 F) , blood pressure is 120/72 mm Hg, pulse is 112/min, and respirations are 26/min.  There is neck stiffness and a petechial rash on the trunk.  Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis reveals the following: CSF gram stain shows gram-negative diplococci.  In the emergency department, the patient's hemodynamic status deteriorates rapidly.  Blood pressure drops to 80/50 mm Hg, and the venous access sites are oozing blood.  Which of the following findings is most likely to be seen on this patient's peripheral blood smear?

• A)Atypical lymphocytosis
• B)Howell-Jolly bodies
• C)Hypersegmented neutrophils
• D)Reactive thrombocytosis
• E)Schistocytes
• F)Severe pancytopenia

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Definitions:

Production Possibility Frontier

A graph showing the highest possible combinations of two goods that can be made using existing resources and technology.

Output Efficiency

The optimized state where goods or services are produced at the lowest possible cost and with the best allocation of resources.

Marginal Rate

The rate at which one variable changes with respect to a slight change in another variable, often used in the context of taxes or production.

Transformation

The process of changing the structure, appearance, or character of something, often seen in economic contexts as shifts in production or technology.