A 20-year-old male college student presents to the campus health clinic. The patient reports no significant past medical history. He has been experiencing painful urination for several days and yellow discharge from his urethra. The nurse asks the student about his sexual activity. He reports engaging in unprotected sex, and is concerned that he may have contracted a sexually transmitted infection. The nurse sends a sample of the urethral discharge to the microbiology laboratory. The laboratory reports gram-negative diplococci and many neutrophils on the smear, suggestive of gonorrhea.
-Based on the patient's clinical presentation and history alone,how could the nurse have distinguished gonorrhea from chlamydia?

Question

A 20-year-old male college student presents to the campus health clinic. The patient reports no significant past medical history. He has been experiencing painful urination for several days and yellow discharge from his urethra. The nurse asks the student about his sexual activity. He reports engaging in unprotected sex, and is concerned that he may have contracted a sexually transmitted infection. The nurse sends a sample of the urethral discharge to the microbiology laboratory.  The laboratory reports gram-negative diplococci and many neutrophils on the smear, suggestive of gonorrhea.
-Based on the patient's clinical presentation and history alone,how could the nurse have distinguished gonorrhea from chlamydia?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Gonorrhea and chlamydia mimic each other in presentation.

A 20-Year-Old Male College Student Presents to the Campus Health