So sweet
Ouch!
Well well well...
Woah baby!
Jack of all trades
100

 A 62-year-old patient had a fasting blood glucose of 160 and a Hgb A1c of 7.5. Which of the following would this patient be expected to display?

  •  A. Low blood pressure
  •  B. Low uric acid level
  •  C. High triglycerides
  •  D. High HDL cholesterol

D. The patient has diagnostic criteria of DM2 which is part of the IRS (insulin resistance syndrome). Other parts of this syndrome can include: central obesity, hypertension, low HDL, high triglycerides, DM2, high uric acid levels, NASH (fatty liver), PCOS (in females), and OSA.

100

While playing basketball, a 22-year-old male was running down the court, stopped to shoot, and felt a tearing pain in his knee. He was unable to continue playing and his knee swelled within 15 minutes. On exam, he had a knee effusion but no pain over the joint line. Which of the following is the most sensitive physical exam test to diagnose his condition?

  •  A. Anterior drawer
  •  B. Lachman
  •  C. Posterior drawer
  •  D. McMurray
  •  E. FABER

B. The mechanism of injury is a forward displacement of the femur on the stopped tibia. This is the classic mechanism for an ACL injury. The effusion of the knee happened so quickly that the fluid had to be blood and therefore a tear occurred instead of a strain. The Lachman is a more sensitive test for an ACL tear than is the anterior drawer (both are PE test used for ACL tear). The posterior drawer is for a PCL tear, the McMurray for a meniscus tear, and the FABER (flexed, abducted and externally rotated) for sacroiliac pathology. While a meniscus tear could be possible, no rotational force is present in the mechanism of injury and no pain over the joint line makes this less of a possibility.

100

According to the USPSTF, which of the following persons should be screened for osteoporosis?

  •  A. A 62-year-old woman with no risk factors
  •  B. A 62-year-old man with no risk factors
  •  C. A 64-year-old woman with risk factors
  •  D. A repeat test on a 70-year-old woman whose initial screen was negative
  •  E. A repeat test on a 70-year-old man whose initial screen was negative

C. The USPSTF recommends screening women at age 65 with no risk factors or women less than 65 who have risks that equal or are greater than a woman at age 65. Repeat tests after negative screens have never proven to be useful. There is insufficient evidence to recommend screening for men (I recommendation).

100

A 28-year-old G1P0 at 38 weeks 4 days presents to labor and delivery after feeling a gush of fluid. She has also been having irregular low abdominal cramps every 8 to 10 minutes. Her pregnancy has been uneventful and she is GBS positive. A fern test was positive. She was found to be dilated to 1 cm. What is the next step in management?

  •  A. Admit her for penicillin and active management of labor.
  •  B. Send her home because she is not yet in active labor.
  •  C. Have her walk the halls of L&D for 2 hours and recheck her cervix to determine if she needs admission.
  •  D. Observe her in L&D on bed rest until she is 40 weeks.
  •  E. Perform serial cervical exams every hour to assess change in her cervical dilation.

A. There is no evidence that the patient is truly in active labor yet; however, in GBS-positive patients with confirmed rupture of membranes, penicillin must be started to reduce risk of complications in the infant. About 15% to 40% of women are colonized with Group B Strep. Appropriate treatment with two doses of penicillin prior to delivery reduces the risk of an early-onset GBS infection in the newborn. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and standardization of screening and treatment of GBS-positive mothers have resulted in a reduction of incidence of GBS-affected infants from 1.5 per 1,000 live births to 0.24 per 1,000 live births. She should be formally admitted to labor and delivery, and considered for induction of labor if she has no further progress in cervical dilation. With rupture of membranes, she has an increased risk for chorioamnionitis. There is no advantage to waiting for days at a time for labor to progress on its own, as she is already full-term. Minimizing cervical exams will also help reduce the potential risk of further introducing bacteria up into the uterus. There is no point to schedule hourly cervical exams in this scenario.

100

A 64-year-old male with a history of HTN and metabolic syndrome presents with a 3-day history of progressively worsening epigastric pain that radiates to the back. He has a poor appetite and the pain is worse with food. He denies fever or bowel changes. His heart and lung exam are normal. He has moderate-to-severe tenderness in the epigastric area which feels very firm and he guards that area. He does not have any rebound tenderness. What is the next best treatment step?

  •  A. Routine right upper quadrant ultrasound
  •  B. Start omeprazole
  •  C. Urgent upper endoscopy (EGD)
  •  D. Urgent CT of the abdomen

D. This patient has red flags for a possible serious intra-abdominal problem including moderate-to-severe pain that radiates to the back with both voluntary and involuntary guarding. This presentation is most consistent with pancreatitis although other disorders can present similarly. An urgent abdominal CT would be important in evaluating this and ruling out other possibilities. Blood work including a CMP, CBC with differential, and lipase/amylase should be done as well. An Ultrasound could be useful, but it is not the best test to evaluate the pancreas. There is also need for urgent evaluation. An EGD may be useful in subsequent workup but not in the initial workup of this patient. It is not appropriate to simply start a PPI without workup in a patient with abdominal red flags.

200

A 57-year-old patient has been diagnosed with DM2. Which of the following is the most potent therapy for patients with Type 2 DM?

  • A. Insulin

  • B. Metformin

  • C. Weight loss

  • D. Amylin analog

  • E. Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor

C. Weight loss (lifestyle changes, diet, exercise, bariatric surgery) is the most potent therapy for Type 2 DM. None of the medications are as potent as weight loss. Insulin is the most potent medication, but not the most potent therapy.

200

A 22-year-old female was jogging and slipped off a curb and suffered an inversion injury to her ankle. She presents to the ER requesting an X-ray to rule out a fracture. Which of the following would be an indication for an X-ray?

  •  A. Bony tenderness of the distal 6 cm of the anterior edge of the tibia
  •  B. Bony tenderness of the distal 6 cm of the anterior edge of the fibula
  •  C. Ability to take four steps in the ER
  •  D. Bony tenderness over the navicular
  •  E. Bony tenderness at the base of the 4th metatarsal

 D. According to the Ottawa ankle rules, only her pain over the navicular is an indication for an X-ray. The other positive rules would be bony tenderness of the distal 6 cm of the posterior tibia or fibula, inability to bear weight for four steps, and bony tenderness of the 5th metatarsal.

200

A 55-year-old female lawyer comes to see you for a complete physical exam. Aside from a 30-pack year history of cigarette smoking, her Past Medical History is unremarkable. Her physical exam is completely normal. You tell her that you will be making recommendations based on guidelines issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Which of the following do you definitely recommend?

  •  A. Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening because of her smoking history.
  •  B. Annual mammogram.
  •  C. Referral for colonoscopy.
  •  D. Screening for osteoporosis.
  •  E. All of the above are true.

C. AAA screening is not recommended in women. Mammogram screening is recommended biannually. Osteoporosis screening is not recommended in women until 65 years old unless she is at high risk.

200

Which of the following increases a woman’s risk of developing gestational diabetes?

  •  A. Maternal grandmother with history of gestational diabetes
  •  B. Previous diagnosis of hypertension
  •  C. History of delivering an 8 lb 10 oz infant
  •  D. Being of African-American descent
  •  E. Obesity
  •  F. Different father of the baby for this pregnancy

E. The risk factors for gestational diabetes are obesity, personal history of gestational diabetes, family history of DM2, maternal age >25 years, and previous baby weighing >9 lb.

200

A 38-year-old woman presents with chronic headaches that she has on most days. It is a bilateral frontal headache and is usually dull and pressing. She has slight photo/phonophobia. She denies an aura preceding the headache. She has no vision changes or weakness, denies nausea or vomiting, and weight has been stable. She takes labetalol for HTN and ibuprofen most mornings for the headache. Which of these is the best treatment to improve her headaches?

  •  A. Increase the ibuprofen to three times a day.
  •  B. Discontinue the ibuprofen.
  •  C. Sumatriptan as needed
  •  D. Change labetalol to propranolol.

B. Her symptoms are most consistent with a withdrawal-type headache owing to the use of the ibuprofen. Discontinuing the ibuprofen or limiting it to no more than two to three times a week will likely improve her symptoms once she gets past the acute withdrawal stage (usually within a few days). Increasing the ibuprofen to three times a day may initially help but the headaches will eventually come back and it does not solve the actual cause. Sumatriptan is used to treat migraine-type headaches, which is not consistent with this presentation. While propranolol is used in headache prophylaxis, changing the labetalol to propranolol is unlikely to significantly benefit this patient.

300

Which U.S. population has the highest prevalence of Type 2 DM?

  •  A. African Americans
  •  B. Latinos
  •  C. Caucasians
  •  D. Native Americans
  •  E. Asian Americans

 D. Native Americans have the highest prevalence of DM2 in the United States followed by African Americans, Latinos, Caucasians, and Asian Americans.

300

A 10-year-old boy presents to your clinic with right knee pain for 2 weeks. He is physically active at school and plays soccer and basket-ball. He describes pain in his knees when he runs or jumps. He denies any recent trauma.His physical examination is normal except for mild edema and tenderness over the right tibial tubercle. What is the most likely diagnosis?

(A) slipped capital femoral epiphysis

(B) Osgood-Schlatter disease

(C) patellar tendonitis

(D) iliotibial band friction syndrome

(E) septic joint

(B)Osgood-Schlatter disease is a repetitive stress injury to the inferior end of the patellar tendon at its insertion into the tibial tubercle.These patients are usually young, athletic males between the ages 10 and 15 years. The diagnosis is made when a young male presents with knee pain that increases with exercise without a history of trauma. Treatment consists of rest, activity restriction, and anti-inflammatory agents. Slipped capital femoral epiphysis occurs most commonly in African American obese adolescent males. It refers to a slipping of the epiphysis off the metaphysis. The “slipping” is caused by weakening of theperichondral ring of the growth plate, which allows the epiphysis and metaphysis to gradually or acutely displace from each other. This results in pain in the groin, thigh, or knee as well as a limp. Treatment is primarily operative internal fixation. Patellar tendonitis is caused by injury to the patellar tendon. Most of these patients have tenderness in the inferior portion of the patella and complain of chronic anterior knee pain. Iliotibial band friction syndrome causes lateral knee pain in runners.

300

Which of the following is true regarding screening recommendations for adolescents or young adults?

  •  A. HIV testing is recommended in teenagers once parents give permission.
  •  B. Lipid screening should not occur prior to the age of 21.
  •  C. Depression screening for all adolescents and young adults.
  •  D. Hearing screening should be regularly performed during the adolescent years.

C. The CDC recommends screening everyone aged 15 to 65 years for HIV. Lipid screening is recommended for adolescents by the AAP but not by the USPSTF. Universal hearing screen is not recommended for adolescents or young adults. Depression screening is recommended for all 12 years or older.

300

A 26-year-old G2P2 presents for her routine postpartum check-up. She states that breastfeeding is going well but she is anxious about her ability to care for her infant girl. Quietly she mentions she is having difficulty sleeping and has cried unexpectedly nearly every day since hospital discharge. Her boyfriend has been vocal about questioning whether or not he is really the father of the baby. She also has had decreased appetite and is not interested in activities she normally enjoys. She denies suicidal ideation or wanting to harm or abandon her daughter. Her self-reported EPDS score was 17. Which of the following are true about her diagnosis?

  •  A. More than 20% of women are diagnosed with postpartum depression.
  •  B. If these feelings occurred 6 months after delivery, she would not be diagnosed with postpartum depression.
  •  C. Lack of social support is a documented risk factor.
  •  D. This condition has no impact on maternal–infant bonding.
  •  E. Postpartum depression should only be managed by mental health professionals.

C. Patients at risk for postpartum depression generally are younger, primiparous, have a history of depression, an unplanned pregnancy, poor social support, or be involved in an abusive relationship. The diagnosis of postpartum depression can occur at any time in the first year after delivery, and affects 8% to 15% of women. Intervention should be made by any medical professional who suspects the diagnosis. The EPDS is a nonproprietary validated test for this condition, which can be administered in a variety of healthcare settings. Her score of 17 is strongly suggestive of postpartum depression. A score of 10 or less would be considered normal.

300

A 50-year-old male with a current history of smoking cigarettes presents to the Emergency Department with the new onset of chest pain and diaphoresis of 6 hours duration. To evaluate him for MI, the recommended initial serum biomarker is:

  •  A. Troponin
  •  B. Creatine phosphokinase (CPK)
  •  C. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP)
  •  D. Myoglobin
  •  E. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

A. Troponin is released into the serum with myocardial cell damage and is the “gold standard” for determining acute MI. The level in the serum begins to rise 3 to 6 hours after myocardial injury, peaks at 24 to 36 hours, and remains elevated for 5 to 14 days. CPK and myoglobin are less specific markers of myocardial injury, as they are released with skeletal muscle injury as well. CRP and ESR are nonspecific markers of inflammation.

400

A 42 year old patient with type II diabetes comes to you for routine follow up.  Which of the following screening tests is indicated for a patient with diabetes without other risk factors?

A. DEXA 

B. Colonoscopy 

C. Urine albumin/creatinine ratio

D. Skin cancer screening 

C. Screening for microalbuminuria is indicated for patients with diabetes at least yearly. 

400

A 64 year old male has been suffering from lower back pain for over 10 years.  You have been following him for this period.  You have prescribed stretching exercises and, occasionally, an anti-inflammatory medication to alleviate his pain.  Although he has had no neurologic deficits in the past, today he has shown up in your office unexpectedly, complaining of bilateral lower back pain with numbness and tingling over the dorsal aspect of both feet.  His symptoms have become progressively worse over the past 2 weeks and he is now unable to stand for more than 5 minutes without developing extreme pain and numbness.  His symptoms are much improved by sitting down or kneeling over a chair.  He denies bladder or bowel incontinence or retention.  Sensation in intact on exam in the saddle area. 

What is the likely diagnosis?

(A) spondyloathropathy of the sacroilliacjoint

(B) age-related early degenerative joint dis-ease (DJD) of the hips

(C) spinal stenosis of the lumbosacral area

(D) muscle spasm of the lower back

(E) cauda equina syndrome


Although all of the given diagnoses could pro-duce similar symptoms, there are distinct find-ings which suggest a diagnosis of spinalstenosis. Spinal stenosis is a degenerative dis-order of the spine which normally presentsafter the age of 50. Neurologic symptoms,including dysesthesias and paraesthesias, andpain are often bilateral and not localized, sinceit commonly affects multiple vertebrae. Thesymptoms are improved with flexion of thespine (sitting or climbing stairs) and worsenedby straightening the spine (standing). There isno localized pain in the sacrum and no bowelor bladder incontinence, so a diagnosis ofcauda equina syndrome or spondyloarthopa-thy is less likely. Muscle spasms and early DJDshould not produce such neurologic findings.

400

Which of the following screening recommendations is true during infancy and childhood?

  •  A. Blood pressure screening should start at the age of 4.
  •  B. Tuberculosis screening is universally recommended for all children at age 12 months.
  •  C. Autism screening should be conducted in all children.
  •  D. Fluoride varnishes should be considered for use in high-risk children to prevent dental caries.

D. The AAP recommends BP screening starting at 3 years old. TB screening is not recommended for average risk patients in the United States. While some experts recommend screening all children for autism, the USPSTF gives it an I rating.

400

You are called to see a newborn in the nursery because the nurse is concerned that the baby may have Down syndrome.  Which of the following signs is associated with Down syndrome?

A. Cafe au lait spots 

B. High arched palate

C. Ambiguous genitalia

D. Hypotonia

E. Club feet 

The most common finding in a newborn withDown syndrome is hypotonia. Other commonfindings include single palmar crease, flat facialprofile, macroglossia, and wide space betweenthe first and second toes. Hypotonia in thenewborn period should prompt close evalua-tion and follow-up. Café au lait spots are asso-ciated with neurofibromatosis. High archedpalates are associated with fragile X syndrome.Ambiguous genitalia are commonly seen inCAH.

400

A 52-year-old male with a history of smoking presents for a follow-up appointment for exertional dyspnea worsening over the past 3 months. He has no history of heart problems or family history of cardiac or pulmonary disease. He has a cough that is occasionally productive of sputum, often in the morning.  He denies fever, weight loss or gain, chest pain, or any other symptoms. Your initial testing including chest X-ray is normal. He presents today to follow-up after his pulmonary function testing. His results show an FEV1/FVC = 0.6 with a prebronchodilator FEV1 = 52% predicted and a postbronchodilator FEV1 = 55% predicted. You diagnose him with:

  •  A. Asthma
  •  B. Interstitial lung disease
  •  C. Further testing is needed to determine diagnosis
  •  D. COPD
  •  E. Sarcoidosis
  •  F. Congestive heart failure
  •  G. Pulmonary embolism

D. COPD is suspected in patients with progressive dyspnea and may be accompanied by chronic cough and a history of smoking. Initial evaluation should include an exam and chest X-ray. Pulmonary function testing will reveal an obstructive pattern on spirometry based on FEV1/FVC < 0.7. The FEV1 is not improved with bronchodilator use as it would be in asthma. Interstitial lung disease may have chest X-ray abnormalities, and spirometry results vary but often show a restrictive pattern (decreased FVC, normal or increased FEV1/FVC, and normal or decreased FEV1). Pulmonary embolism usually does not present with a 3-month course and spirometry would be normal. He has no other signs or symptoms of CHF.

500

Your 57 year old patient with diabetes is back to the office for follow up.  At the last five visits you've urged him to have a dilated eye exam.  He still hasn't done it.  Why are you concerned?

A. Diabetes can cause macular degeneration. 

B. Diabetes can cause retinopathy. 

C. Diabetes can cause glaucoma. 

D. Diabetes can cause corneal abrasions. 

B. Diabetes can cause blindness in diabetic retinopathy.  Early screening and intervention can prevent this. 

500

The patient is a 52-year-old male presenting to the emergency room with complaints of severe leg pain.The patient states he has had ongoing left knee pain of 6 months’ duration, unrelieved by NSAIDs but improved with vicodin. He denies any trauma but reports he has arthritis. His vital signs are stable.  Physical examination of his knee demonstrates no significant findings except for decreased range of motion but with little effort. There is no swelling, erythema, or signs of trauma. An x-ray is obtained which is read as “normal,” without evidence of arthritis. He asks for narcotic analgesics, but when he is offered a trial of NSAIDs and a referral to a specialty clinic, he becomes angry and walks out of the emergency room.

Which of the following is the most likely motivation for this patient’s presentation?

(A) conscious production of symptoms to assume the sick role

(B) conscious production of symptoms to obtain secondary gain  

(C) false belief that he has arthritis 

(D) fear that he is suffering from a serious disease 

(E) unconscious production of symptoms due to unconscious conflict


B. This case is a characteristic presentation for malingering. Consciously producing symptoms in order to assume the sick role is the motivation behind factitious disorder. There is no evidence of psychotic symptoms as would be seen in delusional disorder. Hypochondriasis involves the preoccupation with fears of having a serious illness rather than the focus on complaints of pain. The unconscious production of symptoms due to unconscious conflict is the hallmark of conversion disorder, which presents with a neurologic deficit. Malingering,which is not considered a mental illness, is defined as the intentional production of symptoms motivated by external incentives. These incentives may include such things as avoidance of work, military duty, and jail, or the acquisition of drugs (which is seen in the above case)

500

Which of the following is true regarding screening for Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV in adults?

  •  A. All adults should be screened for HIV before age 65.
  •  B. Sexually active men should be screened for Chlamydia.
  •  C. Chlamydia screening in sexually active young adult women is not recommended before the age of 24.
  •  D. Syphilis screening is only recommended in areas of high geographic prevalence.

A. HIV screening is recommended in all adults younger than 65. Chlamydia screening is not recommended in asymptomatic men per the USPSTF guidelines. All sexually active women should be screened for chlamydia. Syphilis screening is recommended for high-risk patients regardless of geographic location.

500

A term infant male is born after an uncomplicated vaginal delivery. The mother’s prenatal labs were negative with the exception of being GBS positive at 36 weeks’ gestation. The mother received two doses of ampicillin prior to delivery and did not have a fever. The infant had APGAR scores of 9 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes. The infant was brought to the newborn nursery and appears well.

The most appropriate management of the infant would be which of the following?

(A) Draw a CBC and blood culture, but do not start empiric antibiotics.

(B) Give the baby a prophylactic dose of ampicillin.

(C) Routine care.

(D) Cultures of blood, urine, and spinal fluid and wait for culture results before starting antibiotics.

(E) Cultures of blood, urine, and spinal fluid and begin empiric antibiotics before getting culture results.

The most common bacterial infection in the newborn period is GBS. GBS is commonly cultured in the adult vaginal tract, and its vertical transmission can be interrupted with maternal antimicrobial treatment prior to delivery of the infant. Mothers are commonly treated in laborwith penicillin, ampicillin, clindamycin, or azith romycin in an attempt to interrupt trans-mission to the infant while passing through thebirth canal. If antimicrobial prophylaxis is ini-tiated greater than 4 hours prior to delivery,the rate of early-onset GBS disease is dramatically decreased. The current recommendation for term infants of GBS-positive women who have received antibiotics in labor (at least two doses or ≥4 hours prior to delivery) is observation without testing or antibiotics.


500

A patient has a history of having red, raised plaques with very easily loosened scales over most of his body for almost 20 years. He is complaining of multiple joint pains especially when he plays golf. Which of the following is a classic X-ray finding for this disease process?

  •  A. A bucket handle tear
  •  B. Loss of joint space
  •  C. Subcutaneous nodules
  •  D. Pencil in a cup deformity
  •  E. Spiral fracture

D. This patient has psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The classic X-ray finding of psoriatic arthritis is a “pencil in a cup” deformity on hand films. A bucket handle tear is a finding in a torn meniscus, loss of joint space in osteoarthritis (although this may be present in psoriatic arthritis, it is not a classic finding as it is in osteoarthritis), subcutaneous nodules are classic in rheumatoid arthritis, and a spiral fracture is consistent with child abuse.