Question

A patient presents with Kaposi's sarcoma on the skin, diarrhea, shortness of breath, cough, weight loss, and fever. The nurse practitioner orders labs, which reveals CD4 levels at 181 cells/mm3. The nurse practitioner knows that which of the following organisms is most likely to result in death of this patient?

a. Strep pneumonia
b. Pneumocysitis carinii
c. H. flu
d. Staphylococcus aureus

Answer 1

In a patient with AIDS characterized by a CD4 level at 181 cells/mm³, presenting with symptoms including Kaposi's sarcoma, Pneumocystis pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii is most likely to result in death if untreated.

Step-by-step explanation:

A patient presenting with Kaposi's sarcoma on the skin, diarrhea, shortness of breath, cough, weight loss, and fever, and who has a CD4 level at 181 cells/mm3, is diagnosed with stage 3 AIDS. Given the CD4 count below 200 cells/μL and these symptoms, the patient is at high risk for various opportunistic infections. Among the listed organisms, Pneumocystis jirovecii, which causes Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), is the most likely to result in death if left untreated as it is a leading cause of pneumonia in patients with AIDS, and untreated cases can be fatal. In contrast, while the other listed pathogens can cause serious infections, they are not typically as immediately life-threatening in the context of AIDS as PCP.