Your Patient Had Abdominal Surgery Three Days Ago

Your patient had abdominal surgery three days ago. She seemed to be doing well after the surgery, but today the skin around the surgical incision is red and swollen. In addition, your patient has a high fever and is complaining of muscle aches. She also has a rash and has diarrhea. You realize that her wound has become infected, despite your best efforts as a nurse, and you are concerned that she has developed toxic shock syndrome. You explain the details of this type of infection to the patient's family.


-You are extremely concerned, because the laboratory reports that the organism cultured from your patient's wound is capable of digesting collagen and fibronectin. Why are you worried about this?

A) These are structural components of tissue. Their digestion means that not only could the organisms spread easily, but also important structures such as tendons could be destroyed.
B) This would indicate that the organism is capable of forming biofilms and it is very difficult to eliminate biofilms once they have developed, because of resistance.
C) This would indicate that the bacterium is a lysogen, containing viral DNA conferring new characteristics on the organism. Bacteriophages pose an additional health risk to your patient.
D) These are structural components specifically of the heart. Their digestion means that the patient is at risk of heart failure, which will prove fatal.
E) This would indicate that the pathogen has the ability to break down activated complement proteins, thereby avoiding the innate immune defenses and allowing it to persist.