Chapter 6: Bacillus and Clostridium
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- What are the spore-producing gram positives?
- Bacillus and clostridium.
- What are the types of bacillus? What diseases do they cause?
- Bacillus anthracis – anthrax. Bacillus cereus – food poisoning.
- What are the ways anthrax-causing spores can be introduced into the body?
- Germination on skin abrasions, inspiration into the lungs, ingestion into the GI tract.
- Describe the progression of pulmonary anthrax?
- Spores are taken up by lung macs and transported to the hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes. Mediastinal hemorrhage causes mediastinal widening and pleural effusions.
- Contrast bacillus cereus with bacillus anthracis? What does it cause?
- Motile, non-encapsulated, and resistant to penicillin. Causes food poisoning when it deposits its spores in food.
- List the clinically relevant species of clostridium?
- C. botulinum, c. tetani, c. perfringens, and c. dificile.
- Describe botulism? Adult vs infant manifestations?
- Extremely lethal neurotoxin – causing flaccid muscle paralysis. In adults, you will see development of bilateral CN palsies followed by general weakness and a rapid progression to respiratory paralysis. In infants, prognosis is much better.
- Clinical symptoms of tetanus?
- Trismus (lockjaw), risus sardonicus, sustained tetanic contraction.
- Describe treatment of a patient who comes to the hospital having already developed tetanus?
- Neutralize circulating toxin with human tetanus immune globulins. Give an immunization booster. Clean the wound. Administer penicillin. Provide intensive supportive therapy.
- C, perfringens infection is aka⬦? List the classes of infection with C. perfringens?
- Gas gangrene. Cellulitis/wound infection. Clostridial myonecrosis.
- C dificile causes⬦? Clinical manifestations?
- Antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis (diarrhea) following the use of broad spectrum antibiotics. Characterized by severe diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and fever.
- How is C dificile treated?
- Neither metronidazole or vancomycin are absorbed orally into the bloodstream. Administration by mouth cause the METRO and VAN to cruise down the GI tract to kill the bacteria.