Please read the clinical scenario, and then answer the question that follow to become familiar with the traditional NCLEX question format.
About 5 days ago, a 45-year-old patient began experiencing symptoms of what appeared to be a simple upper respiratory tract infection. She has come to the ER after experiencing mild paralysis in her arms and an abnormal heartbeat. While in triage, she suddenly develops difficulty breathing and is sent up to the respiratory unit where you are the charge nurse. In your initial assessment, you discover gross inflammation of her pharynx and tonsils, and the entire area appears to be covered by a grayish-white membrane. You order a throat swab and additional specimens for microbial analysis, and you immediately send the patient into isolation.
-The laboratory technician informs you of the initial information on the pathogen,but tells you that culturing on specialized media will be required for definitive identification of the microbe.Which medium will the technicians use to most efficiently culture this suspected pathogen?

Question

Please read the clinical scenario, and then answer the question that follow to become familiar with the traditional NCLEX question format.
 About 5 days ago, a 45-year-old patient began experiencing symptoms of what appeared to be a simple upper respiratory tract infection. She has come to the ER after experiencing mild paralysis in her arms and an abnormal heartbeat. While in triage, she suddenly develops difficulty breathing and is sent up to the respiratory unit where you are the charge nurse. In your initial assessment, you discover gross inflammation of her pharynx and tonsils, and the entire area appears to be covered by a grayish-white membrane. You order a throat swab and additional specimens for microbial analysis, and you immediately send the patient into isolation.
-The laboratory technician informs you of the initial information on the pathogen,but tells you that culturing on specialized media will be required for definitive identification of the microbe.Which medium will the technicians use to most efficiently culture this suspected pathogen?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Tellurite medium is commonly used for the culturing of Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the bacteria responsible for diphtheria, which can present with the symptoms described in the scenario (paralysis, abnormal heartbeat, pharyngeal inflammation with a white membrane). Mannitol salt agar is used to culture Staphylococcus aureus, which may also cause pharyngitis and upper respiratory infections, but it does not produce a white membrane. Eosin methylene blue agar is used to culture gram-negative enteric bacteria, which are unlikely to be the cause of the patient's symptoms. Tissue culture is not typically used for culturing bacterial pathogens.

Please Read the Clinical Scenario, and Then Answer the Question