The laboratory reports his sputum gram stain as gram + diplococci. Culture will be available tomorrow and antibiotic-sensitivity the next day. Click here to see the stained smear. What should your initial therapy be?
B) 3rd generation cephalosporin
Correct!
The most common bacterial pathogens are S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, and S. aureus. Because of the recent increased incidence of penicillin-resistant pneumococci, most clinicians would initiate therapy with either ceftriaxone or cefotaximine pending results of culture and sensitivity.
