An individual comes to the emergency department (ED) with fever, cough, malaise, and weakness

Question

Forty-eight hours later, the symptoms have become progressively worse, and they progress to severe respiratory distress, septicemia, and hemorrhagic meningitis. The nurse re-cognizes these signs and symptoms as a. tularemia.
b. smallpox.
c. inhalation anthrax.
d. pneumonic plague.

Answer 1

C
Inhalation anthrax is characterized by fever, cough, malaise, and weakness, which progress 2 to 3 days later to severe respiratory distress, septicemia, and hemorrhagic meningitis.
Tularemia is characterized by fever, headache, chills, rigors, body aches, sneezing, and sore throat. Pneumonia and pleuritis may develop.
Smallpox is manifested by a vesicular rash, which this patient does not have. Fever is a characte-ristic of both inhalational anthrax and smallpox.
Pneumonic plague is manifested by high fever, cough, dyspnea, and hemoptysis, as well as ga-strointestinal symptoms.