A 35-Year-Old Man Is Brought to the Emergency Department Due

question 398

Multiple Choice

A 35-year-old man is brought to the emergency department due to deteriorating vision for the past week.  He initially experienced eye pain and mild redness of both eyes, followed by visual blurring and photophobia over the previous few days.  The patient has a history of HIV diagnosed 10 years ago and has not been taking his antiretroviral medications.  Temperature is 37.2 C (99 F) , blood pressure is 110/81 mm Hg, and pulse is 82/min.  Profuse clear drainage and crusting of the eyes is noted bilaterally.  Slit-lamp examination reveals marked linear branching keratitis.  Funduscopy shows a normal-appearing retina and optic nerve.  Oral examination reveals numerous white plaques over the buccal mucosa, palate, and tongue.  Which of the following organisms is the most likely cause of this patient's ocular findings?

• A)Candida albicans
• B)Cytomegalovirus
• C)Herpes simplex virus
• D)Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• E)Staphylococcus aureus

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Definitions:

Null Hypothesis

A statistical hypothesis that indicates no effect or no difference in the context of scientific experiments, assuming the observation results from chance.

Control

The use of standardized procedures and conditions in scientific experiments to ensure that changes observed in an experiment are due to the manipulation of the independent variable.