Check out today’s Step 1 Qmax Question Challenge.
Know the answer? Post it below! Don’t forget to check back for an update with the correct answer and explanation (we’ll post it in the comments section below).
A 25-year-old medical student presents to the clinic with a nonproductive cough, low-grade fever, and malaise of 3 weeks’ duration. A few friends in his study group have been complaining of similar symptoms. The patient denies exposure to farm animals, travel, or HIV.
In clinic, vital signs are:
Temperature: 37.2°C (99°F)
Heart rate: 80 beats/min
Respiratory rate: 18 breaths/min
Blood pressure: 110/75 mm Hg
Oxygen saturation: 96% on room air (normal range: 95%–99%)
On physical examination, lungs are clear to auscultation bilaterally without egophony or dullness to percussion. Sputum cultures are negative. The physician treats for an atypical pneumonia.
Which of the following is the most sensitive method for identifying the most likely causative pathogen?
A. Cold agglutinin test
B. Eosinophil cationic protein
C. Giemsa stain
D. Gram stain
E. Nasopharyngeal polymerase chain reaction
———————–
Want to know the ‘bottom line?’ Purchase a USMLE-Rx Subscription and get many more features, more questions, and passages from First Aid, including images, references, and other facts relevant to this question.
This practice question is an actual question from the USMLE-Rx Step 1 Qmax test bank. For more USMLE Step 1 prep, subscribe to our First Aid Step 1 Flash Facts and First Aid Step 1 Express Videos video series. Score the best deal on all three products as a bundle with USMLE-Rx 360 Step 1.