Question

A 10-year-old boy presents to the office, complaining of a painful, swollen area along his right jaw and neck. On physical examination, he is noted to be febrile and has diffuse tenderness over the right parotid gland. His laboratory tests include an elevated serum amylase. His parents elected not to vaccinate him. In this patient, based on the most likely diagnosis, which of the following is a complication of his disease?\

A. hepatitis
B. nerve deafness
C. pneumonitis
D. testicular torsion

Answer 1

The patient's symptoms suggest mumps, which can lead to nerve deafness as a complication; other complications can include meningitis, encephalitis, and organ inflammation, but not testicular torsion. the correct option is B. nerve deafness.

Step-by-step explanation:

The complication of the disease mumps, most likely associated with the patient's symptoms, is B. nerve deafness.

Mumps is caused by a paramyxovirus and commonly results in the swelling of the parotid glands, accompanied by fever, headache, and muscle pain. A notable complication of mumps is nerve deafness, due to the virus's ability to spread via the bloodstream to other organs, including potentially the central nervous system, leading to meningitis, encephalitis, and nerve deafness.

Other possible complications include pancreatitis, orchitis (which can lead to testicular pain and, on rare occasions, sterility), and oophoritis, but testicular torsion is not associated with mumps. Hepatitis is a liver infection and not commonly caused by the mumps virus, and pneumonitis is a lung condition that is also not a typical complication of mumps.