Case Study # 2

Mysterious Infection

Case # 2: Mysterious Infection

A 22 year old Asian female (with a history of recurrent cystitis) is admitted to the hospital for tenderness of the lower abdomen and painful urination.  Urinalysis results (for a first morning specimen) are: 
 

 The Clinical Laboratory Scientist notices moving elements with multiple flagella, but is unsure of what they could be (refer to video courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

White blood cells viewed under 400x magnification.	Click on the Giemsa-stained organism above to go to a website which has a video of this organism. Going here will give you the answer, though! When finished viewing, use the BACK from your browser to return to this page. Both the image above and the video are courtesy of the Center for Disease Control.

 
1)       What could the unknown moving element be (refer to picture and video)?  

Answer

 2)       Why can’t the clinical laboratory scientist leave the specimen for a coworker to examine next Monday?

 Answer

 3)       What is the likely source of the causative agent and would cranberry juice help?                      

Answer

 4)       What three urinalysis results rule out a bacterial cystitis?

 Answer

5)       Does the microscopic result for RBC correlate with the chemical test for blood? Why?

 Answer