NURS 6501: Final Exam: Please contact Assignment Samurai for help with NURS 6501: Final Exam or any other assignment. Email: assignmentsamurai@gmail.com   A young adult female patient presents with lower abdominal pain, fever, and abnormal vaginal discharge. She undergoes a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) test on material collected by a vaginal swab, which is negative for gonorrhea but positive for another bacterium known to be a common cause of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in the USA. What is this bacterium? Group of answer choices

• Chlamydia trachomatis
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Mycoplasma genitalium
• Gardnerella vaginalis

The correct answer is: Chlamydia trachomatis   Explanation: The patient’s symptoms (lower abdominal pain, fever, abnormal vaginal discharge) are classic for pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and the most common bacterial causes of PID in the U.S. are:

1. Chlamydia trachomatis (NAAT-positive in this case).
2. Neisseria gonorrhoeae (ruled out by the negative NAAT).

Key Points:

• Chlamydia trachomatis is the #1 cause of PID in the U.S., often presenting with mild or subclinical symptoms.
• NAAT (PCR) is the gold standard for detecting Chlamydia.
• Untreated PID can lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy, or chronic pelvic pain.

Why Not the Others?

• Mycoplasma genitalium: An emerging cause of PID but less common than Chlamydia.
• Staphylococcus aureus: Associated with toxic shock syndrome or abscesses, not typical PID.
• Gardnerella vaginalis: Causes bacterial vaginosis (BV), not PID (though BV may increase PID risk).

Treatment for PID:

• Empiric coverage for Chlamydia (e.g., doxycycline) + gonorrhea (e.g., ceftriaxone) is recommended, even if NAAT is negative for one pathogen.

Thus, Chlamydia trachomatis is the most likely cause.