An 80-Year-Old Woman Is Referred to Your Cardiac Practice with No

Multiple Choice

An 80-year-old woman is referred to your cardiac practice with no fever but worsening exertional fatigue. She has had a heart murmur since she was young. It appears to have worsened recently. At her 80th birthday party 4 weeks ago, two of her great nieces were sick, and she thinks she picked up their sore throat. She was sick with fever for about a week 3 weeks ago but did not have enough energy to go to the doctor. If you did standard bacterial blood cultures, what would be the most likely outcome?

A) Growth of Streptococcus pyogenes
B) Growth of viridans streptococci
C) Growth of Staphylococcus aureus
D) Growth of enterococci
E) No growth