Rosh Internal Medicine Boost Practice Exam

Disable ads (and more) with a membership for a one time $2.99 payment

Prepare for the Rosh Internal Medicine Exam. Study with flashcards and multiple-choice questions, each equipped with hints and explanations. Excel in your test with confidence and enhanced knowledge!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.

A patient with a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) abscess likely received which antibiotic for a previous episode?

Cephalexin
Doxycycline
Nitrofurantoin
Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole

The correct answer is: Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole

In the case of a patient with a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) abscess, the correct choice is associated with an antibiotic that is effective against MRSA. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is a preferred choice for treating MRSA infections, particularly for skin and soft tissue infections, due to its efficacy against this resistant organism. TMP-SMX works by inhibiting bacterial folate synthesis, effectively targeting a variety of gram-positive bacteria, including MRSA. Its use in previous episodes of MRSA infections would make it a likely candidate in the patient's history. On the other hand, the other antibiotics listed have limitations when it comes to MRSA. Cephalexin, being a first-generation cephalosporin, is not effective against MRSA and would typically be used for infections caused by susceptible strains of Staphylococcus aureus and other bacteria. Doxycycline has some effectiveness against MRSA, but it is less commonly used than TMP-SMX for abscesses. Nitrofurantoin is mainly indicated for urinary tract infections and does not have activity against MRSA. Thus, the selection of Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole reflects a treatment