Solved

A 20-Year-Old College Student Is Brought to the Emergency Department

question 10

Multiple Choice

A 20-year-old college student is brought to the emergency department due to progressive lethargy and confusion. He is obtunded and unable to answer questions, but his friend says the patient has had shaking chills and diarrhea since last night. He has no prior medical problems other than a nasal fracture following a bar fight 3 days ago, which was reduced and stabilized with nasal packing at another hospital. The patient takes no medications and has no known drug allergies. He lives in a dormitory and recently returned from a hiking trip in North Carolina.
Temperature is 39.4 C (103 F) , blood pressure is 84/42 mm Hg, pulse is 126/min, and respirations are 18/min. Examination shows an ill-appearing man. Pupils are equal, round, and reactive. Anterior packing is present in the left nostril. There is diffuse erythema of the mucous membranes and skin, including the palms and soles. Mild pitting edema is present in both legs.
Laboratory results are as follows:
$A 20-year-old college student is brought to the emergency department due to progressive lethargy and confusion. He is obtunded and unable to answer questions, but his friend says the patient has had shaking chills and diarrhea since last night. He has no prior medical problems other than a nasal fracture following a bar fight 3 days ago, which was reduced and stabilized with nasal packing at another hospital. The patient takes no medications and has no known drug allergies. He lives in a dormitory and recently returned from a hiking trip in North Carolina. Temperature is 39.4 C (103 F) , blood pressure is 84/42 mm Hg, pulse is 126/min, and respirations are 18/min. Examination shows an ill-appearing man. Pupils are equal, round, and reactive. Anterior packing is present in the left nostril. There is diffuse erythema of the mucous membranes and skin, including the palms and soles. Mild pitting edema is present in both legs. Laboratory results are as follows: CT scan of the head reveals no abnormalities. Venous access is established, and intravenous fluids are administered. Which of the following is the most appropriate antimicrobial therapy for this patient? A) Ceftriaxone B) Doxycycline C) Penicillin G D) Vancomycin and cefepime E) Vancomycin and clindamycin$ CT scan of the head reveals no abnormalities. Venous access is established, and intravenous fluids are administered.
Which of the following is the most appropriate antimicrobial therapy for this patient?

Definitions:

Normality

In statistics, a condition in which a distribution approximates the normal distribution, characterized by a bell-shaped curve.

Consistent

In statistics, a property of an estimator indicating that as the sample size increases, it converges in probability to the true parameter value.

T Distribution

A statistical distribution type that emerges when calculating the average of a population with a normal distribution, under conditions where there are few samples and the population's standard deviation is not known.

Degrees Of Freedom

The number of independent values within a calculation that can freely vary when estimating statistical parameters.