Free practice question: Back pain and fever after injection drug use
Question 6 of 25 in the free Starter set. Single best answer, three options, like the real exam.
C4 · Musculoskeletal pain
A 39-year-old man who injects drugs has 3 weeks of worsening lumbar pain and intermittent fevers. He is alert, with stable vital signs, and his neurologic examination is normal. CRP and ESR are markedly raised. MRI shows L3–L4 discitis with vertebral osteomyelitis and no epidural abscess. Two sets of blood cultures drawn before any antibiotic show no growth at 5 days. What is the most appropriate next step?
Review the topic: Low back pain: evaluation and management · Interpreting spine imaging in pain practice
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