A 22-year-old woman comes to the office due to dysuria and increased urinary frequency for the past 2 days. She has no hematuria, vaginal discharge, or irritation. The patient has no other medical problems. Her temperature is 37 C (98.6 F). Physical examination reveals mild suprapubic tenderness on deep palpation; there is no costovertebral angle tenderness. Urine dipstick is positive for leukocyte esterase and nitrites. The patient is started on trimethoprim, which leads to rapid resolution of her symptoms. Which of the following drugs has the same intracellular target as the drug used to treat this patient?

Question

A 22-year-old woman comes to the office due to dysuria and increased urinary frequency for the past 2 days.  She has no hematuria, vaginal discharge, or irritation.  The patient has no other medical problems.  Her temperature is 37 C (98.6 F).  Physical examination reveals mild suprapubic tenderness on deep palpation; there is no costovertebral angle tenderness.  Urine dipstick is positive for leukocyte esterase and nitrites.  The patient is started on trimethoprim, which leads to rapid resolution of her symptoms.  Which of the following drugs has the same intracellular target as the drug used to treat this patient?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Trimethoprim, methotrexate, and pyrimethamine inhibit dihydrofolate reductase.  Trimethoprim restricts bacterial growth through this process, and works particularly well in conjunction with sulfonamide, which inhibits an earlier step in the bacterial folic acid pathway.

A 22-Year-Old Woman Comes to the Office Due to Dysuria