Page Contents
OVERVIEW
This page is dedicated to organizing various examples of standardized exam questions whose answer is Listeria monocytogenes. While this may seem a odd practice, it is useful to see multiple examples of how Listeria monocytogenes will be characterized on standardized exams (namely the boards and the shelf exams). This page is not meant to be used as a traditional question bank (as all of the answers will be the same), however seeing the classic “test” characterization for a topic is quite valuable.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS CONDITION (ON EXAMS)
When it comes to standardized exams, each topic has its own “code” marked by key buzzwords, lab findings, clues, etc. If you are well versed in this code you will be able to more quickly identify the condition that is being discussed, and get the right answer on the exam you are taking. Below is the “code” for Listeria monocytogenes.
- Unpasteurized dairy consumption: classic piece of history for this condition (can be cheese etc).
- Gram positive, coccobacillary bacterium is the appearance on gram stain (can be gram positive rods).
QUESTION EXAMPLES
Question # 1
A 25 year old woman is pregnant with her first child. She develops fever and chills a few days after eating some delicious unpasteurized cheese. A gram stain is conducted on her blood and reveals the presence of a gram-positive cocobacillary bacterium. What is the likely organism?
Explanation # 1
Consumption of unpasteurized cheese + gram-positive cocobacillary bacterium = Listeria monocytogenes
Question # 2
Explanation # 2
TESTABLE FACTS ABOUT THIS TOPIC (BEYOND ITS IDENTIFICATION)
Many questions on standardized exams go beyond simply recognizing the underlying topic. Often there are specific testable facts regarding some aspect of the topic’s pathophysiology/management/clinical implications that are commonly asked. Some of these are listed below:
Page Updated: 04.18.2017