Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!
Multiple Choice
Gina brings her 5-month-old son to the ER. His symptoms started with constipation a day prior and have progressed to poor feeding and lethargy. His clinical intake indicates that his parents have introduced solid foods, including home-made baby food sweetened with honey, starting about a week ago. Which of the following treatments might be appropriate?
A
Tdap vaccine.
B
Cephalosporin.
C
BabyBIG®.
D
Botulinum type E antitoxin.
0 Comments
Verified step by step guidance
1
Step 1: Identify the clinical presentation and history. The infant shows constipation, poor feeding, and lethargy, with a history of honey introduction, which is a known risk factor for infant botulism due to Clostridium botulinum spores.
Step 2: Understand the pathophysiology. In infant botulism, ingested spores germinate in the immature gut, producing botulinum toxin that causes neuromuscular blockade leading to symptoms like constipation and lethargy.
Step 3: Review treatment options. Antibiotics like cephalosporins are generally not recommended because they can disrupt normal gut flora and worsen the condition. Vaccines like Tdap are preventive for other diseases and not relevant here.
Step 4: Focus on specific therapy. The appropriate treatment is administration of BabyBIG®, a human-derived botulism immune globulin that neutralizes circulating toxin and reduces disease severity in infant botulism.
Step 5: Differentiate from other antitoxins. Botulinum type E antitoxin is used for foodborne botulism caused by type E toxin, not typically for infant botulism, which is usually caused by types A and B.