WBR0850

Author	[[PageAuthor::Mohamed Moubarak, M.D. [1]]]
Exam Type	ExamType::USMLE Step 3
Main Category	MainCategory::Primary Care Office
Sub Category	SubCategory::Infectious Disease, SubCategory::Infectious Disease
Prompt	[[Prompt::A 55 year-old man comes to the outpatient clinic complaining of progressive severe pain, and swelling in his left leg, which markedly affected his job as a bartender. The patients said that although he used pain killers, his pain was increasing over the past week. He is a diabetic patient on Metformin. On examination, the patient is feverish with temperature 39 C (102 F), heart rate 90/min, blood pressure 135/80 mmHg, and respiratory rate of 20/min. His left leg is severely tender, red, and hot on examination. You ordered x-ray which turned back with no pathology. What is the best next step in managing this case?]]
Answer A	AnswerA::Order blood culture then proceed with treatment
Answer A Explanation	[[AnswerAExp::Correct Although the diagnosis of osteomyelitis is often based on radiologic results showing a lytic center with a ring of sclerosis, blood culture is the first to be done to direct the treatment towards the causative organism]]
Answer B	AnswerB::Start antibiotic treatment immediately
Answer B Explanation	[[AnswerBExp::Incorrect Antibiotic therapy should be started after blood culture withdrawal]]
Answer C	AnswerC::Start analgesics and ask the patient to come next week for follow up
Answer C Explanation	[[AnswerCExp::Incorrect Osteomyelitis is an acute bacterial infection and should be diagnosed and treated with the proper antibiotics]]
Answer D	AnswerD::It’s a self limiting disease and just need follow up
Answer D Explanation	[[AnswerDExp::Incorrect Osteomyelitis is not a self limiting disease, and can lead to severe destruction of the bone if left untreated]]
Answer E	AnswerE::Order ESR for this patient
Answer E Explanation	[[AnswerEExp::Incorrect ESR is a non specific test and will not help in reaching the diagnosis]]
Right Answer	RightAnswer::A
Explanation	[[Explanation::Osteomyelitis is an infection of bone or bone marrow, usually caused by pyogenic bacteria or mycobacteria. It can be usefully subclassifed on the basis of the causative organism, the route, duration and anatomic location of the infection. It usually present with fever, chills, erythema, and swelling over the involved bone. Educational Objective: References: ]]
Approved	Approved::No
Keyword	[[WBRKeyword::Osteomyelitis]]
Linked Question	Linked::
Order in Linked Questions	LinkedOrder::