Carol Kauffman

OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has encephalitis? What should you expect to find? Encephalitis is diffuse inflammation of brain parenchyma, usually due to infection with a virus. It is classified as primary if it is a direct result of infection (the neurons are infected and virus often can…

OVERVIEW: What every clinician needs to know Parasite name and classification Leishmania species – protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania What is the best treatment? General wound care is a mainstay of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) treatment Specific CL treatment includes local, oral, and parenteral agents. Local treatments include topical paromomycin and paromomycin-gentamicin, which have been…

OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has leprosy? What should you expect to find? Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is caused by the acid fast bacterium Mycobacteria leprae and can present with varied clinical symptoms that primarily involve skin and peripheral nerves, along a continuum of severity. Understanding the classifications of…

OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has aseptic meningitis? What should you expect to find? The general term meningitis refers to the nonspecific inflammation of the meninges. Meningitis is distinct from encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain parenchyma and is strongly associated with altered mental status. Meningitis and…

OVERVIEW: What every clinician needs to know Pathogen name and classification Blastomyces dermatitidis, a thermally dimorphic fungus, causes blastomycosis. This fungus exists as a mold at room temperature in the laboratory and in the environment; it is a yeast at 37°C in the laboratory and in human tissues. What is the best treatment? Patients who…

OVERVIEW: What every clinician needs to know Pathogen name and classification Acinetobacter species are gram-negative, non-fermenting, often coccobacillary bacteria that belong in the family Moraxellaceae. The genus currently comprises of 34 species, 25 of them have valid names and 9 are named by their genomic group, of which A. baumannii is the most important in…

OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has infectious arthritis? What should you expect to find? The symptoms, signs and presentation of septic arthritis are dependent upon: The class or type of pathogen (bacterial, fungal, mycobacterial, or viral) Location of the afflicted joint Underlying illnesses and immune function of the…

OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has invasive candidiasis/candidemia? What should you expect to find? Symptoms mimic the clinical picture seen with bacterial infections/bacteremia: Candidemia: fever, chills, hypotension, confusion Localized invasive candidiasis: depends on the organ involved; examples include: Abdominal abscesses: fever, chills, abdominal painRelated Content Urinary tract infection:…

OVERVIEW: What every clinician needs to know Pathogen name and classification Sporothrix schenckii, a thermally dimorphic fungus, causes sporotrichosis. This fungus grows as a mold in the environment and in the laboratory at 25°C to 28°C. At body temperature and in the laboratory at 35°C to 37°C, the organism grows as a yeast. What is…

OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has C. difficile infection (CDI)? What should you expect to find? Diarrhea is the key symptom of Clostridium difficile infection, with various degrees of abdominal cramping and pain in most patients, but accompanied by fever in a minority (28%). Occasionally, patients also have…