Question 27

(Multiple Choice)

A 63-year-old alcoholic presents complaining of chest pain, fever, shaking chills, cough, and myalgia. She was very cold two nights ago and says she has felt "poorly" ever since. Her cough is producing rust-colored, odorless, mucoid sputum. Her temperature on admission is 40°C. Her white blood cell count is 16,000 cells/mm3 and is predominantly neutrophils with an overall left shift. An α\alpha -hemolytic, lancet-shaped, Gram-positive diplococcus is isolated on blood agar. What is the most likely causative agent?


A) Legionella pneumophila
B) Klebsiella pneumoniae
C) Mycoplasma pneumoniae
D) Neisseria meningitidis
E) Streptococcus pneumoniae

Answer