A 53-year-old man arrives at the emergency room after experiencing gradually worsening shortness of breath, a nonproductive cough, and low-grade fevers for the previous two weeks. He hasn't had a runny nose or a sore throat, and he hasn't had any ill contacts. He had a lung transplant four months ago for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Immunosuppressants and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole are among his meds. The temperature is 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 F). A chest x-ray indicates bilateral diffuse interstitial infiltrates. Testing reveals a decline in pulmonary function. The image below depicts a lung biopsy specimen. Which of the following best characterizes the organism most likely responsible for this patient's current condition?

Question

A 53-year-old man arrives at the emergency room after experiencing gradually worsening shortness of breath, a nonproductive cough, and low-grade fevers for the previous two weeks. He hasn't had a runny nose or a sore throat, and he hasn't had any ill contacts. He had a lung transplant four months ago for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Immunosuppressants and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole are among his meds. The temperature is 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 F). A chest x-ray indicates bilateral diffuse interstitial infiltrates. Testing reveals a decline in pulmonary function. The image below depicts a lung biopsy specimen.  Which of the following best characterizes the organism most likely responsible for this patient's current condition?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: In a transplant patient, pneumonia with intranuclear and cytoplasmic inclusion bodies histologically points to opportunistic infection with cytomegalovirus, an enveloped virus that contains a double-stranded DNA genome.

A 53-Year-Old Man Arrives at the Emergency Room After Experiencing