[ecgram]

Which of the following procedures or clinical signs is most specific for the diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis caused by the Epstein-Barr virus?
A. Laboratory diagnosis is based on the presence of "atypical lymphocytes" and EBV-specific antibody
B. Growth in tissue culture cells
C. Heterophile antibodies in serum
D. Lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly on physical examination
E. B-cell lymphocyte proliferation

 

[Seetal]

hmm.. i keep looking at A or C. but i think ill go with C.

 

[ecgram]

i thought its C
but they gave answer as B in the files u sent me

 

[Seetal]

i thought its C
but they gave answer as B in the files u sent me

say what!!
what was the explanation? i havent done microbiology (only pharmacology so far n a little pathology)

 

[ecgram]

hmmm sorry i didnt understand the explanation there and i forgot in which document the questions was its in either micro2 or 3 from the files u sent

 

[Seetal]

hmmm sorry i didnt understand the explanation there and i forgot in which document the questions was its in either micro2 or 3 from the files u sent

ok no worries. ill go look for it tonight n post it up. this is a shocker question n answer btw.

 

[ecgram]

heyy i found it

Contact with infected secretions such as saliva can result in infection with EBV, thus the term kissing disease. Laboratory diagnosis of EBV-induced infectious mononucleosis is usually determined by presence of atypical lymphocytes, heterophile antibodies, or specific antiviral antibodies such as VCA (viral capsid antibody).

 

[Seetal]

heyy i found it

Contact with infected secretions such as saliva can result in infection with EBV, thus the term kissing disease. Laboratory diagnosis of EBV-induced infectious mononucleosis is usually determined by presence of atypical lymphocytes, heterophile antibodies, or specific antiviral antibodies such as VCA (viral capsid antibody).

but the explanation points to A or C. they said it is B?

 

[ecgram]

i think its C

 

[Seetal]

i think its C

same here. sometimes they have misprints. like they can answer is E but all the explanation points to A. it happens in kaplan q book n FA q book too sometimes.

 

[doctorF]

hmmm sorry i didnt understand the explanation there and i forgot in which document the questions was its in either micro2 or 3 from the files u sent

the answer is definitely A: read this article

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/390371

 

[ashishkabir]

I'd argue for A too - wouldn't having antibodies for something pretty much make it specific for it?

 

[ashishkabir]

The article seems to confirm it, thanks DoctorF

 

[Androide89]

what are the other diseases/infections which are also heterophile antibody positive again? i remember reading about it before...

 

[doctorF]

monospot test (heterophile antibodies) can also be positive in people with lymphoma, systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), and some gastrointestinal cancers, although it is not used as a diagnostic or screening tool for these conditions. negative monospot test with same clinical scenario as EBV suggests CMV...

 

[Seetal]

the article talks about IgM specific for EBV. n that is what a heterophile antibody is. i understand how atypical lymphocytes also points towards kissing disease, but in kaplan, the diagnosis of kissing disease is made by finding of heterophile antibody finding. atypical lymphocytes is not specific.

 

[ecgram]

@seetal thats y i answered it as C

any seniors who can clear this doubt
thanks in advance

 

[doctorF]

@seetal thats y i answered it as C

any seniors who can clear this doubt
thanks in advance

i also leaned towards C at the instant i read the question, bkz all qbanks wen ask such a question they point towards heterophile antibodies, then i googled up so find this article... so i thot ok A is the answer... now its confusing really:notsure:

 

[ecgram]

actually it is confusing but most of the question banks they refer to heterophile antibodies so lets go with that answer

 

[Seetal]

actually it is confusing but most of the question banks they refer to heterophile antibodies so lets go with that answer

lol... u know guys, what's important is that we now know what's the FOR SURE answer. so whether it's A or C, they wont repeat this same question for out Exam, but at least we know if they ask heterophile positive we say mono, if they ask heterophile negative we say CMV. )