A noncompliant 70-year-old HIV-positive man with a $CD4^+$ cell count of $40/mm^3$ presents with a pulmonary infection caused by an organism that requires 4 weeks to grow on Lowenstein-Jensen medium. What is the best descriptor of the most likely causative agent?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare or Mycobacterium tuberculosis, both acid-fast organisms, are the most likely causes of this pulmonary infection in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Both can be cultured on Lowenstein-Jensen but, in general, broth systems providing a similar high lipid content for making the mycobacterial cell wall have replaced Lowenstein-Jensen. Pneumocystis jiroveci, now considered a fungus, cannot be cultured on any medium.

A Noncompliant 70-Year-Old HIV-Positive Man with A CD4+CD4^+CD4+ Cell Count Of 40/mm340/mm^340/mm3

A Noncompliant 70-Year-Old HIV-Positive Man with A $CD4^+$ Cell Count Of $40/mm^3$