Abx for specific bugs?

[jfotos]

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I have around 3 days until step 1 and am choosing carefully for my last crammable material. How high yield is knowing how to treat specific bugs with antibiotics? If I know the mechs and the SE's, is that enough? Thanks all!

 

[UCLAstudent]

On my test, it was definitely worth knowing the drugs associated with different bugs. Just learn what is in First Aid --- it's not too much and there are mnemonics. CMMRS might also be helpful

 

[cubsrule4e]

dont forget to include antihelminthics, theyre pretty easy to group and its worth at least a couple of questions on the test

 

[mudphudwannabe]

FWIW, I didn't have any questions on antihelminthics. A few on antimalarials though.

MOA is definitely important, know the SE's in FA. Knowing a lot of specific bug/drug combos isn't necessary, but you need to know spectrum (GNR's, aerobes, anaerobes, etc) and coverage for a few especially important examples -- staph, strep, pseudomonas, chlamydia, etc.

 

[anesthesiarocks]

FWIW, I didn't have any questions on antihelminthics. A few on antimalarials though.

MOA is definitely important, know the SE's in FA. Knowing a lot of specific bug/drug combos isn't necessary, but you need to know spectrum (GNR's, aerobes, anaerobes, etc) and coverage for a few especially important examples -- staph, strep, pseudomonas, chlamydia, etc.

Antihelminthics is a ridiculously low yield topic. Helminths in general is pretty low yield. I had 1 helminth question, and I got it right because a patient was presenting with brain lesions and 4 pathogens were listed(bacteria and viruses) that I *knew* didn't cause brain lesions and this helminth(Im guessing it was a helminth) I never bothered to study was the only other choice, so I chose it. Then I at the break I checked FA and sure enough it caused brain lesions/cysts/whatever.

To the op- you need to know pathogen/drug combos for things like legionella, syphyllis, pcp, crytpococcus, gonorrhea, etc......for things like chlamydia where you can use two or three different drugs that are equally effective, know what they are as well. But it's not like you're going to see doxy and a macrolide both on your test as drugs to use to cover chlamydia.

What you need to be able to do is(for a pathogen like pseudomonas) be able to separate the one that is effective against treating it with 4 choices that have poor gram- rod coverage. It's not hard if you know your stuff, and the choices will be obvious if you do.

Also, they may give you a UTI presentation and depending on how serious it is you need to pick the right drug. Like if it's a simple clinical presentation for UTI which looks like a no big deal outpatient don't even come into the office thing but just call it in, they may list amoxicillin or something and then a bigboy antibiotic. But you'll know which way they are leading you because the stem will emphasize certain things to point out how simple/outpatient it really is....

 

[Miami_med]

I had about 3 questions where this was relevant. 1 was easy, because it was a worm with only one answer that ever treated worms. It's probably worth knowing, and I probably had less than some other people on my exam.

 

[jfotos]

ok cool thanks guys.

second question - how much of the test is viruses...based on the rote memorization that it seems to be, is it really that high yield?

 

[UCLAstudent]

My test was very micro heavy, including viruses. Ignore at your own risk! 😉

 

[SoCuteMD]

My test was very micro heavy, including viruses. Ignore at your own risk! 😉

My biggest problem with viruses is segmented vs. not segmented. UGH! You mean I'm gonna have to pound that into my thick skull?!!?

 

[jfotos]

but I mean like, how many questions did you have that involved the dna vs rna vs ds, vs ss, vs icosahedral, etc?

 

[domer621]

but I mean like, how many questions did you have that involved the dna vs rna vs ds, vs ss, vs icosahedral, etc?

I had only one q like this. Also had several fungi/protozoa q's.

 

[Taus]

if you're worried about the +/- rna/dna, naked/env stuff......combining the mnemonics from FA and CMRRS makes the whole thing really easy....if you can remember like 5-6 mnemonics you can answer any of those q's

domer and anyone else who has recently taken it: were they getting into specifics on the protozoa/worm pharm?....ie needing to choose anything besides mebendazole for a worm or the basic protozoa stuff like metro & malaria drugs?

 

[cubsrule4e]

if you're worried about the +/- rna/dna, naked/env stuff......combining the mnemonics from FA and CMRRS makes the whole thing really easy....if you can remember like 5-6 mnemonics you can answer any of those q's

domer and anyone else who has recently taken it: were they getting into specifics on the protozoa/worm pharm?....ie needing to choose anything besides mebendazole for a worm or the basic protozoa stuff like metro & malaria drugs?

Every worm and protozoa treatment answer i had was Metro or Mebendazole. Come to think of it, i saw Metro more than any other topic that appeared on the test. I had questions on Gardnerella, Trichomonas, C. diff, and Giardia

 

[UCLAstudent]

domer and anyone else who has recently taken it: were they getting into specifics on the protozoa/worm pharm?....ie needing to choose anything besides mebendazole for a worm or the basic protozoa stuff like metro & malaria drugs?

Mine did! I had 4 questions on parasite treatment, and only one time was the answer mebendazole. Also, I had a strange question saying something like, "For which of the following parasites would drug X be inappropriate"?

 

[Luc]

Then I at the break I checked FA and sure enough it caused brain lesions/cysts/whatever.

Wait, so you can take materials/FA into the test center and LOOK AT THEM in the breaks? Surely this can't be allowed because you could refresh your memory of a lot of stuff by looking through FA in the lunch break (if you take a long one).

Although it would be good if we can!

 

[domer621]

domer and anyone else who has recently taken it: were they getting into specifics on the protozoa/worm pharm?....ie needing to choose anything besides mebendazole for a worm or the basic protozoa stuff like metro & malaria drugs?

I had no drug q's on specific protozoa treatment, actually. I had 2 q's about specific bacterial treatment, though. I think it's worth it to know in general which antibacterials act against G+/G-'s, only G+'s, only G-'s... you know, that one chart in FA.

 

[domer621]

Wait, so you can take materials/FA into the test center and LOOK AT THEM in the breaks? Surely this can't be allowed because you could refresh your memory of a lot of stuff by looking through FA in the lunch break (if you take a long one).

Although it would be good if we can!

I brought my FA and put it in my locker, but the lady there told me we're actually not allowed to look at books during breaks... I don't see it really helping, anyway. I think it might freak you out a bit!

 

[surprisedgirl]

I had no drug q's on specific protozoa treatment, actually. I had 2 q's about specific bacterial treatment, though. I think it's worth it to know in general which antibacterials act against G+/G-'s, only G+'s, only G-'s... you know, that one chart in FA.

what chart are you talking about?

 

[domer621]

what chart are you talking about?

The one with all of the classes of antibiotics on it with line bars showing what bacteria they cover.

 

[Taus]

The one with all of the classes of antibiotics on it with line bars showing what bacteria they cover.

for whatever reason that chart was omitted from the 07 version....its in 06

 

[t33sg1rl]

but I mean like, how many questions did you have that involved the dna vs rna vs ds, vs ss, vs icosahedral, etc?

I had 4-5 q's that asked about the characteristics of a specific virus, and about 4-5 questions on worms.

As far as drug specificity, it is enough to know the biggest categories-for example, vancomycin treats only gram positivies. On my test, there was only one question that couldn't be handled that way-what was the specific drug of choice for rickettsial infection. I put doxycycline but that could have been wrong.

 

[Krazykritter]

for whatever reason that chart was omitted from the 07 version....its in 06

And here it is for all of you that have the '07 edition:

I had to crop & zip it so it would fit, but enjoy. The chart is pretty good, but it did not cut it for my COMLEX yesterday. I had to know a TON of specific tx, like the Abx you use to tx Yersinia pestis.

 

[surprisedgirl]

And here it is for all of you that have the '07 edition:

I had to crop & zip it so it would fit, but enjoy. The chart is pretty good, but it did not cut it for my COMLEX yesterday. I had to know a TON of specific tx, like the Abx you use to tx Yersinia pestis.

thank you!!!!!!!!!

 

[surprisedgirl]

I had 4-5 q's that asked about the characteristics of a specific virus, and about 4-5 questions on worms.

As far as drug specificity, it is enough to know the biggest categories-for example, vancomycin treats only gram positivies. On my test, there was only one question that couldn't be handled that way-what was the specific drug of choice for rickettsial infection. I put doxycycline but that could have been wrong.

could you get the worm ?s from those FA charts, or was more info needed? alll ive studied is FA for worms

 

[blz]

could you get the worm ?s from those FA charts, or was more info needed? alll ive studied is FA for worms

the worm question was rediculously easy. they only seem to care about mebendazole. they won't ask you how to treat loa loa or whatever it's called. lol. FA is probably too much for the worms. they won't ask about paragonius, or some of the other weird bugs on that list. I would just take a quick look at the drugs for parasites the day before the exam. It's not worth it any time sooner. For the virus thing, its really unnecessary to memorize the structures of all the viruses from that chart. I just memorized the few mnemonics in FA and used them as a guide to answer questions like that. In the end, they didnt ask a single question on virus structure, but even if they did, it would probably be something very straight forward. I highly doubt they would care if you knew the structure of arenavirus or togavirus.

 

[surprisedgirl]

the worm question was rediculously easy. they only seem to care about mebendazole. they won't ask you how to treat loa loa or whatever it's called. lol. FA is probably too much for the worms. they won't ask about paragonius, or some of the other weird bugs on that list. I would just take a quick look at the drugs for parasites the day before the exam. It's not worth it any time sooner. For the virus thing, its really unnecessary to memorize the structures of all the viruses from that chart. I just memorized the few mnemonics in FA and used them as a guide to answer questions like that. In the end, they didnt ask a single question on virus structure, but even if they did, it would probably be something very straight forward. I highly doubt they would care if you knew the structure of arenavirus or togavirus.

thansk that makes me feel better 🙂

 

[fakin' the funk]

dont forget to include antihelminthics, theyre pretty easy to group and its worth at least a couple of questions on the test

Joke right? 0 questions about a ton of worms and a ton of drugs. Just be able to recognize which are the antiparasitic drugs from the true abx, that'll get you by.

 

[cubsrule4e]

Joke right? 0 questions about a ton of worms and a ton of drugs. Just be able to recognize which are the antiparasitic drugs from the true abx, that'll get you by.

How long does it take to look at the FA page and say ok, Roundworms = mebendazole, Cestodes = Niclosamide, Flukes = Praziquantel? Not long. And if you noticed from experiences, the worms seem to be all or nothing, so if your test is one that has 4-5 worm questions then youve got 5 easy points from spending 20 seconds on the page in FA.