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Infectious diseases
38 notes, 117 questions and 339 flashcards.
Tier 1 is core knowledge expected of every trainee. Tier 2 is deeper or less common.
Presentations
- Acute infectious diarrhoea and gastroenteritisFree sampleWho needs stool testing, how to read a multiplex PCR result, when antibiotics help or harm, C. difficile under the 2025 ASID guideline, and the public health rules.Tier 1, approach to a presentation, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- DysuriaCystitis, urethritis or vaginitis? Who needs a culture, who needs STI NAATs, and the 2025 Therapeutic Guidelines order of nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin, then trimethoprim.Tier 1, approach to a presentation, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Fever without a focusSeparate the septic patient from the stable one, take an exposure history that finds Australian zoonoses and travel infections, and work up fever of unknown origin in order.Tier 1, approach to a presentation, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
Key conditions
- BacteraemiaFree sampleTaking and reading blood cultures, what each organism says about the source, Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia under the 2026 IDSA/ESCMID statements and SNAP, and 7-day courses for Gram-negatives.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Central line and intravascular catheter infectionsDiagnosing catheter-related bloodstream infection with paired cultures, when the line must come out, lock therapy, durations by organism, catheter-related thrombosis and the insertion bundle.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Community-acquired pneumoniaLikely organisms in Australia, severity scoring with SMART-COP and CORB, and antibiotic choice by severity.Tier 1, condition, 4 questions, 10 flashcards
- Conjunctivitis, blepharitis and orbital cellulitisInfective conjunctivitis by cause, blepharitis and lid lumps, separating preseptal from orbital cellulitis, and the eye infections physicians meet in bacteraemia, candidaemia, HIV and syphilis.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Epstein-Barr virus and infectious mononucleosisGlandular fever and its mimics, reading heterophile and EBV serology, the complications that kill (splenic rupture, airway obstruction, HLH), and EBV-driven cancers and PTLD.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Fever, sepsis and septic shockSepsis-3 and SOFA-2, why qSOFA is no longer a screening tool, the tiered antibiotic timing of Surviving Sepsis 2026 and Therapeutic Guidelines 2025, empirical regimens by source, and the adjuncts that do and don't work.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Meningitis and encephalitisAntibiotics and dexamethasone within the hour, when CT must come before LP, reading CSF, Listeria and pneumococcal cover, HSV encephalitis and its mimics, cryptococcal and TB meningitis, and meningococcal contact prophylaxis in Australia.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 10 flashcards
- Septic arthritisAspirate the hot joint before antibiotics, read the synovial fluid properly, choose flucloxacillin, cefazolin or vancomycin by MRSA risk, drain the joint, and think gonococcus in the young.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Upper respiratory tract infections, otitis media and tonsillitisWho needs antibiotics for sore throat (people at risk of rheumatic fever), the deep neck infections not to miss, acute otitis media and sinusitis in adults, and the adult middle ear effusion that is nasopharyngeal cancer.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Urinary tract infection, pyelonephritis and urosepsisPyelonephritis and urosepsis after the 2025 Therapeutic Guidelines and IDSA updates, the obstructed infected kidney, prostatitis, catheter-associated infection, asymptomatic bacteriuria in older people, and preventing recurrent UTI.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
Less common or complex conditions
- Acute testicular pain and epididymo-orchitisTorsion until proven otherwise, and surgery without waiting for ultrasound. Epididymo-orchitis is usually chlamydia or gonorrhoea in sexually active men and enteric organisms after instrumentation; ceftriaxone plus doxycycline for 14 days covers the STI causes.Tier 2, approach to a presentation, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Fever in the returning travellerWhere, when and what they did. Exclude falciparum malaria the same day, use incubation periods to narrow the list, isolate early for measles and viral haemorrhagic fever, and know the parasites behind fever with eosinophilia.Tier 2, approach to a presentation, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- HIV infectionWho to test, recognising primary HIV, the fourth-generation test and its window period, baseline work-up, rapid ART with integrase-based regimens, monitoring and virological failure, comorbidity care, U=U, PrEP and PEP in Australia.Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 10 flashcards
- Infections in the immunocompromised hostWork out the immune defect, recognise the syndromes (pulmonary infiltrates, CNS infection, disseminated rash), go early for tissue and BAL, know first-line drugs for aspergillus, mucor, cryptococcus, CMV, nocardia and listeria, and handle biologics during infection.Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Necrotising soft tissue infection (necrotising fasciitis)Pain out of proportion means surgery now. Know the types, why LRINEC and imaging can't rule it out, the empirical regimen with clindamycin or lincomycin for toxin suppression, IVIG in streptococcal toxic shock, and Australian exposures.Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- OsteomyelitisHaematogenous, contiguous and chronic osteomyelitis; MRI as the imaging test; when blood cultures are enough and when you need a bone biopsy before antibiotics; 6 weeks for vertebral infection; early oral switch (OVIVA); and when surgery is needed.Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Patients presenting after recent sexual assaultFirst aid, safety and forensic referral, HIV PEP under the 2025 ASHM guideline, hepatitis B, STI testing windows, and choosing between the copper IUD, ulipristal and levonorgestrel for emergency contraception.Tier 2, approach to a presentation, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Vaginal discharge, bacterial vaginosis and candidiasisSeparating physiological discharge, bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis, trichomoniasis and cervicitis at the bedside, ASHM treatment regimens, male partner treatment for BV, recurrent thrush and the pregnancy rules.Tier 2, approach to a presentation, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
Emerging or less common infections
- Cytomegalovirus infectionCMV mononucleosis in the immunocompetent, end-organ disease in transplant and advanced HIV, quantitative PCR versus biopsy, ganciclovir and its alternatives, and who is at highest risk after solid organ versus stem cell transplant.Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- ToxoplasmosisLymphadenitis in the immunocompetent, toxoplasmic encephalitis in advanced HIV versus primary CNS lymphoma, the empirical treatment trial, pyrimethamine regimens and co-trimoxazole, prophylaxis thresholds, retinochoroiditis and infection in pregnancy.Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
Genito-urinary conditions
- Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and Mycoplasma genitaliumWho to test and with which sample, ASHM treatment for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and resistance-guided Mycoplasma genitalium, test of cure versus retesting, disseminated gonococcal infection, STIs in pregnancy, doxy-PEP, and contact tracing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally diverse communities.Tier 2, condition, 4 questions, 10 flashcards
- Pelvic inflammatory diseaseLow-threshold clinical diagnosis of PID, excluding ectopic pregnancy, the ASHM 14-day ceftriaxone, doxycycline and metronidazole regimen, who to admit, IUDs, pregnancy, Mycoplasma genitalium and partner treatment.Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
Infections in the returning traveller
- Dengue feverFebrile, critical and recovery phases; warning signs that mean admission; NS1 and PCR in the first 5 days; paracetamol not NSAIDs; crystalloid guided by haematocrit; no prophylactic platelets or steroids; and the 2026 ATAGI advice on Qdenga.Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- MalariaFilms and a rapid test today, repeated to three negatives; severe criteria and IV artesunate; artemether-lumefantrine for uncomplicated disease; G6PD testing before primaquine or tafenoquine for vivax and ovale; and the detection traps (HRP2 deletions, knowlesi, sequestration).Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 10 flashcards
Investigations and procedures
- Imaging in infectious diseasesPicking the right scan for the question (chest X-ray, CT head before LP, CT abdomen and pelvis for a hidden source, MRI for spine, bone and brain, FDG-PET/CT and labelled leucocyte scans, echo for endocarditis), reading the typical findings, and the lags and false negatives that catch people out.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Interpreting laboratory tests in infectionReading the FBC, CRP, procalcitonin, lactate and liver tests in a febrile patient, the white cell and platelet patterns that point to particular infections, how microbiology, serology and virology answer different questions, and worked examples of results that change management.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Investigations for common STIsWhat culture, NAAT and serology each tell you in sexual health, the right sample for each site, reading syphilis and HIV results step by step, resistance testing for gonorrhoea and Mycoplasma genitalium, window periods and test-of-cure timing under ASHM guidance.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
- Microbiology and culture of body fluidsHow to collect and read blood, sputum, BAL, CSF, synovial, peritoneal, pus and urine specimens, the cell counts and colony counts that mean infection, worked results for each fluid, and what to do when cultures are negative.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- Serology and viral load testing for CMV, EBV, hepatitis, HIV and syphilisWhat IgM, IgG, avidity, antigen and nucleic acid tests each tell you, window periods, a step-by-step way to read CMV, hepatitis B and C, HIV and syphilis results, positive predictive value in low-prevalence testing, and how to read HIV, HBV, HCV and CMV viral loads and decide whether a change is real.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- TuberculosisWho gets TB in Australia, sputum smear, culture and Xpert, why IGRA can't diagnose active disease, 2HRZE/4HR and its toxicities, testing and treating TB infection before immunosuppression, airborne isolation, notification and contact tracing, plus Legionella and pertussis public health.Tier 2, condition, 3 questions, 10 flashcards
- Vaccine administration, consent and adverse eventsThe pre-vaccination screening checklist, the elements of valid consent (including mature minors and adults without capacity), needle size, site and route, anticoagulation, the 15-minute observation, telling anaphylaxis from a vasovagal episode, adrenaline dosing, and recording on the AIR and reporting adverse events.Tier 2, medical sciences concept, 3 questions, 8 flashcards
Specific issues
- Prosthetic joint, heart valve and cardiac device infectionsFree sampleBiofilm biology, timing-based classification, aspiration before antibiotics, DAIR versus exchange, rifampicin and the 12-week DATIPO result for joints, and complete extraction for cardiac device infection.Tier 1, condition, 3 questions, 10 flashcards
- Infectious diseases: specific issuesChoosing antibiotics around an allergy label, the endocarditis and bone and joint infection teams and Hospital in the Home, post-exposure prophylaxis in the emergency department (HIV, hepatitis B, tetanus, lyssavirus, meningococcal, varicella, measles), community needlestick injuries, and the Australian notifiable diseases system.Tier 2, topic overview, 3 questions, 9 flashcards
- SyphilisStages and skin signs of syphilis, how it mimics other diseases, reading treponemal and RPR results, ASHM treatment by stage during the Bicillin L-A shortage, neurosyphilis and ocular syphilis, pregnancy and congenital syphilis, follow-up titres and contact tracing.Tier 2, condition, 4 questions, 10 flashcards