Duncan is a 78-year-old nursing home patient who has discolored mucus coming from his nose. He has no known medication allergies, so you prescribe him Amoxicillin. 3 days later, the symptoms have not improved and Duncan developed a fever of 101 degrees. Which of the following courses of treatment would be most appropriate (barring any other significant medical history or clinical findings)?
A)Switch antibiotics
B)Using a nasal swab, take a culture and await results to see what organism could be causing the infection.
C)Both A and B
D)Neither A nor B

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Nursing home patients are susceptible to infection because of the reduced functionality of their aging immune systems. In community living arrangements such as this, infections with are very common-especially with highly antibiotic resistant bacterial infections, such as MRSA (methicillin resistant S. aureus). The fact that the patient has not responded to Amoxicillin points to a possible diagnosis. The patient should be treated with a different antibiotic. Prior to administration of the antibiotic, a culture should be taken to confirm the diagnosis. Patients who have MRSA should be isolated from other patients to reduce its spread as much as possible.

Duncan Is a 78-Year-Old Nursing Home Patient Who Has Discolored