Abscesses Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Abscesses and links to relevant pages within the course.
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| Spleen Specimen A 23-year old man had complained of right lower quadrant abdomonal pain for approximately one week. Initially the pain was sharp and localized to a small area just above the right iliac crest.The pain subsided for approximately two days, but then recurred more diffusely over the lower abdomen, accompanied by cramping and mild diarrhea.The onset of fever and vomiting promted a visit to the emergency room. His temperature was 101 F, pulse was 90/minute, and palpation of the right lower abdomen elicited severe pain.The white blood count was 23,000/mm with a distinct left shift, including 5% metamyelocytes.Emergency surgery was performed for a large peri-appendiceal abscess. During surgery, multiple abscesses were noted in the spleen, which was removed (see photograph).Recovery was uneventful following 5 days of adjuvant clindamycin therapy. | View Page |
| Illustrated in the upper photograph are tiny pinpoint 24-hour colonies recovered from one of the splenic abscesses. The wide zones of beta hemolysis are better seen in the close-in view of the 36 hour culture shown in the lower photograph.
Streptococcus milleri (anginosus) can be suspected if one of the following odors is detected: | View Page |
| A clinical condition often associated with Streptococcus milleri (anginosus) is: | View Page |
| Review 1 Piscitelli SC., Shwed J., Schreckenberger P., Danziger LH.
Streptococcus milleri group: renewed interest in an elusive pathogen.
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases.11:491-8, 1992The following review examines the bacteriological characteristics, epidemiology, pathogenicity and antimicrobial susceptibility of the "Streptococcus milleri group". "Streptococcus milleri group" is a term for a large group of streptococci which includes Streptococcus intermedius, Streptococcus constellatus and Streptococcus anginosus.Usually considered commensals, these organisms are often associated with various pyogenic infections including cardiac, intra-abdominal, subcutaneous and central nervous system infections, particularly with the formation of abscesses.Organisms of the "Streptococcus milleri group" are often unrecognized pathogens due to the lack of uniformity in classifications and difficulties in microbiological identification. Penicillin G, cephalosporins, clindamycin and vancomycin all possess activity against these streptococci.Use of agents with poor activity may promote infections with "Streptococcus milleri group" and allow it to exhibit its pathogenicity. An understanding of these organisms may aid in their recognition and proper treatment. | View Page |
| The epidural and subdural abscesses in the two patients reported by Gelfand, et al, are clinical manifestations uncommon for S. milleri. | View Page |
| Review 1 Newfield RS. Vargas I. Huma Z.:
Eikenella corrodens infections. Case report in two adolescent females with IDDM.
Diabetes Care. 19:1011-3, 1996OBJECTIVE: To alert physicians caring for patients with diabetes to the microorganism Eikenella corrodens and to discuss the appropriate preventive and therapeutic measures to take against this potentially morbid opportunistic Gram-negative bacilli.CASES: We present two cases of extra-oral E. corrodens infections in adolescent females with IDDM. The first patient had diabetes of 4 years' duration, which was moderately well controlled. Chronic finger biting resulted in a complex felon that evolved gradually and worsened while the patient received cephalexin orally. Delay in seeking further intervention resulted in necrosis of her distal fingertip and nail bed. The second patient had poorly controlled diabetes for 5 years. She developed an acute thigh abscess at an insulin injection site that resolved after drainage and intravenous antibiotics.CONCLUSIONS: E. corrodens commonly inhabits the human oral cavity and becomes a pathogen mostly when host defenses are impaired, causing abscesses and infections that are at times fatal. Patients with IDDM are compromised hosts and with daily microtrauma to their skin via glucose monitoring and insulin injections, are prone to develop E. corrodens infections that can be introduced through oral secretions by licking or biting their skin. Educational efforts aimed at preventing exposure of traumatized skin to oral secretions can minimize the risk of E. corrodens infections in compromised hosts.Early intravenous administration of antibiotics, bearing in mind E. corrodens resistance to clindamycin, metronidazole, and other antibiotics, coupled with prompt surgical intervention, is essential in successfully managing E. corrodens infections. | View Page |
| Saprophytic Cladosporium species may be difficult to differentiate from Cladosporium trichoides (Xylohypha bantianum) in culture as both produce chains of conidia separated by distinct scars or dysjuncters. Each of the following characteristics of Cladosporium trichoides are helpful in separating the two except: | View Page |
| The disease with which the dematiaceous fungus illustrated in this photomicrograph is most likely associated is: | View Page |
| Procedures with Increased TB Risk Some procedures increase the potential for TB risk because they create aerosols. They include: Sputum induction and aerosol treatments Bronchoscopy Endotracheal intubation and suctioning Autopsy Microbiology processing TB specimens Surgical drainage of TB abscesses | View Page |