gram-positive bacteria

• boil

  superficial infection where you get a collection of pus. s. aureus
• treatment of boils?

  can drain by themselves or be encouraged with a warm moist compress. recurrent boils need antibiotic treatmet
• folliculitis

  superficial skin infection involving the hair follicles
• furuncles and carbuncles

  deeper infections usually preceded by folliculitis, spontaneous or surgical draining. s. aureus
• haematogenous


  carried by the blood
• how would you test for the presence of botulinum neurotoxin?

  ELISA, sera or stool samples
• suppurative


  resulting in pus
• nosocomial


  hospital acquired
• vancomycin resistant enterococci

  problamatic HCAI, limited treatment options: linezolid
• what is the treatment for a VRE infection?

  linezolid
• cephalosporins

  for penicillin-resistant pneumococci, resistance common in listeria monocytogenes, used if allergy to penicillin
• vancomycin

  used if beta-lactam anaphylaxis, used if resistnace to beta-lactam is suspected
• agglutination


  clumping of molecules together
• streptococci


  gram-positive cocci in long or short chains
• what media must streptococci be grown on?

  blood agar
• is streptococci catalase positive or negative?

  negative
• strep. pyogenes diagnostic features?

  gram-pos cocci in chains or pairs, beta-haemolytic, group A
• streptolysin function


  lyse RBC
• streptokinase function?


  enzyme that promotes the breakdown of blood clots
• when does scarlet fever occur?

  when a group A strep strain is lysogenised by a bacteriophage. it stimulates the production of pyrogenic toxin
• clinical features of scarlet fever?

  pharyngitis and a rash
• infections with strep. pyogenes can give rise to non-suppurative sequelae which cause?


  acute glomerulonephritis (deposits in the kindey) and acute rheumatic fever
• rhumatic fever and glomerulonephritis are?

  post-streptococcal auto-immune complications
• impetigo clinical features?


  golden crusted lesions, itchy
• impetigo treatment?


  oral flucloxacillin
• cellulitis clinical featues?


  blanching, swelling, pain, hot to touch
• cellulitis treatment?


  IV flucloxacillin or IV clarithromycin
• erysipelas clinical features?


  fever and chills, skin is raised and differentiated
• erysipelas treatment?


  oral benzylpenicillin or cephalosporin
• necrosting fascitis clinical features?

  blistering skin, discolouration, destruction of skin and subcutanious fat
• necrotising fasciitis treatment?

  high dose of IV benzylpenicillin