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Current Affairs January 2024

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Topic: Delirium Tremens
Subject: Medicine
A patient with delirium tremens manifests all of the following, except:

A. Clouded consciousness

B. Hypothermia

C. Coarse tremor

D. Tachypnea

Correct Answer :

B. Hypothermia


Delirium tremens commonly begins two to three days after the last alcohol drink, but it may be delayed more than a week. Its peak intensity is usually four to five days after the last drink. This condition causes dangerous shifts in breathing, circulation and temperature control. It can cause heart palpitations and dramatical increase in blood pressure, and dangerous dehydration. Delirium tremens also can temporarily reduce the amount of blood flow to the brain. Symptoms can include confusion, disorientation, stupor or loss of consciousness, nervous or angry behavior, irrational beliefs, soaking sweats, hyperthermia, tremor, tachypnea, sleep disturbances and hallucinations.

Related Questions

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4

Topic: Seizure
Subject: Medicine
A 75-year-old male is brought to your office 1 month after a stroke that involved the left anterior cerebral artery, manifested by leg weakness, initial incontinence, and slowness in mentation. He experienced seizure activity on the second day after his stroke, but this was controlled by phenytoin (Dilantin). He has improved significantly and is now ambulatory. His family states that he now has episodic confusion, sleepiness, and clumsiness, which is preceded by paresthesias and dizziness, although no tonicclonic activity has been noted. He remains very drowsy for several hours after these episodes. He was wearing a cardiac monitor during one episode, but it showed nothing remarkable. His phenytoin level is therapeutic, and a CBC, metabolic profile, and magnesium level are all normal.
Which one of the following would be the most appropriate next step?

A. Discontinue the phenytoin

B. Add phenobarbital to the phenytoin

C. Begin bupropion (Wellbutrin)

D. Begin lamotrigine (Lamictal)

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4

Topic: Temporal Arteritis
Subject: Medicine
A female patient complains of a severe headache and jaw pain when she chews. She also complains of shoulder pain and bilateral wrist weakness. Initial lab tests show an ESR of 75 (normal is less than 30).
What is the most appropriate diagnosis?

A. Rheumatoid Arthritis

B. Temporal Arteritis

C. Polymyositis

D. Sarcoidosis

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4

Topic: Dementia
Subject: Medicine
Clinical features of multi-infarct dementia may include all of the following, except:

A. Parkinsonism

B. Deteriorating course

C. Evidence of cerebrovascular disease

D. Focal neurologic signs

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4

Topic: Adverse Drug Effect
Subject: Medicine
A 68-year-old man with a history of urolithiasis, suffered from a seizure attack which involved loss of consciousness with tonic and clonic muscular contractions. His tongue fell back into his throat and he choked. He is treated with valproic acid.
What are the most common side effects caused by this medication?

A. Weight gain

B. Rash

C. Nausea and headache

D. Tardive dyskinesia

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4

Topic: Status Epilepticus
Subject: Medicine
A 58-year-old male with a history of seizure attacks suffered from a 30 min loss of consciousness with repetitive seizures with no recovery of consciousness between attacks. What is the disorder this patient is suffering from?

A. Tonic-clonic seizure

B. Absence seizure

C. Atonic seizure

D. Status epilepticus

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4

Topic: Analgesics
Subject: Medicine
A 74-year-old black female has moderately severe pain due to osteoarthritis. However, she is also on medication for a seizure disorder. When choosing medications to manage her chronic pain, which one of the following should be used with caution because of her history of seizures?

A. Salsalate (Disalcid)

B. Celecoxib (Celebrex)

C. Hydrocodone (Lortab)

D. Tramadol (Ultram)

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4

Topic: Alzheimer's Disease
Subject: Medicine
Which one of the following tests is most useful for the initial workup of suspected Alzheimers disease?

A. Carotid Doppler ultrasonography

B. An erythrocyte sedimentation rate

C. A cardiac stress test

D. A TSH level

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4

Topic: Glasgow Coma Scale
Subject: Medicine
A 27 year old man is brought into the ER after a bicycling accident. A car door suddenly opened in front of him, of which he smashed into and was thrown 15 feet. On examination, he is drowsy and confused. He opens his eyes when his name is called. When he speaks, you understand his words but the sentences do not make sense. He moves all four limbs but does not respond to any commands. He is able to pull both hands away when pinched and squirms when his sternum is rubbed, making no effort to stop you.
What is his Glasgow Coma Scale score?

A. 11

B. 10

C. 9

D. 8

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4

Topic: Seizure
Subject: Medicine
A 52-year-old man with a history of seizure attacks suffered from loss of consciousness and tonic and clonic muscular contractions. His tongue fell back into his throat and he choked. What is the best diagnostic test for assessment of the presenting condition of this patient?

A. X-rays

B. CT-Scan

C. Electroencephalogram

D. Discography

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4

Topic: Benign Positional Vertigo
Subject: Medicine
Which one of the following is characteristic of benign positional vertigo?

A. A duration of 10-15 minutes

B. Associated hearing loss and tinnitus

C. Associated diplopia and facial numbness

D. Being triggered by turning the head

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4

Topic: Tension headache.
Subject: Medicine
A woman presents with chief complaint of tightening, band-like headaches that usually occur upon rising in the morning. What is the most likely diagnosis?

A. Migraine headache

B. Premenstrual headache

C. Tension headache

D. Cluster headache

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4

Topic: Brain Death
Subject: Medicine
A 35 year old man has been on life support systems for the past 48 hours following blunt head trauma. Which of the following is the most important criterion to declare the patient brain dead and to permit removal of life support systems?

A. Bedside EEG showing no electrical activity

B. Decorticate and decerebrate posturing

C. Failure to respond to electroconvulsive stimuli

D. Glasgow coma score of 3 or less

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4

Topic: Alzheimer's Disease
Subject: Medicine
Which one of the following is most predictive of the progression from mild cognitive impairment to frank Alzheimers dementia?

A. Self-reported memory deficits

B. Memory deficits reported by a family member

C. A normal MRI scan of the brain

D. The absence of the apolipoprotein E4 allele

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4

Topic: Seizure
Subject: Medicine
A 32-year-old female experiences an episode of unresponsiveness associated with jerking movements of her arms and legs. Which one of the following presentations would make a diagnosis of true seizure more likely?

A. Post-event confusion

B. Eye closure during the event

C. A history of fibromyalgia

D. A history of chronic back pain

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4

Topic: Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Subject: Medicine
A 36-year-old female presents with the sudden onset of severe headache, nausea, and photophobia. Her level of consciousness is progressively diminishing. Which one of the following would be the most appropriate next step?

A. Head CT without contrast

B. Head CT with contrast

C. Head MRI

D. Lumbar puncture

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4

Topic: Neurologic pain
Subject: Medicine
A 21-year-old man presented to the emergency hospital with severe abdominal pain. The pain started four hour ago. His medical history reveals Acute Intermittent Porphyria (AIP) and he used to have frequent attacks of abdominal pain and believes that this attack is no different. On examination, the patient is in acute pain and slightly feverish but not pale, jaundiced or cyanosed. However, his blood pressure is found to be high and he has tachycardia.
You should consider a diagnosis other than an AIP attack if the pain is associated with:

A. Constipation

B. Tenderness

C. Abdominal distension

D. Decreased bowel sounds

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4

Topic: Postherpetic Neuralgia
Subject: Medicine
A 78-year-old male comes to your office with a 3- day history of pain in the right side of his chest. The pain is described as burning and intense. Two days ago he noted a rash at that site. Examination reveals groups of vesicles on an erythematous base in a T-5 dermatome distribution on the right.
Which one of the following would be the most appropriate treatment to minimize the chance of post-herpetic neuralgia?

A. Famiciclovir (Famvir)

B. Prednisone

C. Capsaicin (Zostrix)

D. Carbamazepine (Tegretol)

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4

Topic: Korsakoff's Psychosis
Subject: Medicine
In a patient with recent onset of alcohol amnestic disorder, the mental status test most likely to be done poorly is memory of:

A. Political figures of 10 years ago

B. Digits (forward)

C. His own name

D. Three items for 5 minutes

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4

Topic: Postherpetic Neuralgia
Subject: Medicine
When given during acute herpes zoster (varicella) infection, which one of the following drugs has been shown to reduce the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia?

A. Imipramine (Tofranil)

B. Capsaicin (Zostrix)

C. Amitriptyline

D. Acyclovir (Zovirax)

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4

Topic: Hepatic Encephalopathy
Subject: Medicine
A 50-year-old man with a history of hemochromatosis presents to the emergency room vomiting up bright red blood. He had his most recent phlebotomy yesterday. His blood pressure is 110/85 mm Hg, his pulse 115/min; his face is flushed, and he is diaphoretic. During the physical examination splenomegaly and a venous pattern on his chest and abdomen are noted. He seems somewhat drowsy and confused but has no focal neurologic signs.
What is the probable source of this patient's confusion?

A. Severe anemia

B. Hepatic encephalopathy

C. Subarachnoid hemorrhage

D. Vitamin B12 deficiency

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4

Topic: Seizure
Subject: Medicine
A 36-year-old male with a history of a seizure disorder is brought to the emergency department with generalized tonic-clonic activity. Emergency medical personnel report this has been ongoing for 20 minutes.
After initial resuscitative measures, the preferred medication in this situation is:

A. Phenytoin (Dilantin)

B. Fosphenytoin (Cerebyx)

C. Naloxone

D. Lorazepam (Ativan)

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4

Topic: Temporal Lobe Lesion
Subject: Medicine
A 40 year old man presents with sporadically occurring behaviour automatisms and olfactory hallucinations. Which one of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

A. Schizophrenia

B. Schizophreniform psychosis

C. Hysterical personality disorder

D. Temporal lobe lesion

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4

Topic: Huntington Chorea
Subject: Medicine
A patient previously diagnosed with Huntington chorea (HC) comes for a family planning consult with his wife. He states that his father had the disease and his mother was unaffected. They ask you what is the likelihood having a son with this condition?

A. Zero

B. 25%

C. 50%

D. 75%

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4

Topic: Essential Tremor
Subject: Medicine
A 66 year old white female consults you because she has developed a tremor of her right hand that interferes with her ability to do needlework. She has noticed that the tremor improves when she rests her hands in her lap and gets worse when she holds them up against gravity. She has developed a slight quiver to her voice as well. Her symptoms started gradually over 6 months ago and have progressed slowly. She remembers her mother having similar problems in her later years. She takes no medications, and her physical examination corroborates her history. No other abnormalities are noted. A multiple chemistry screen and TSH level are normal.
Which one of the following is most likely to alleviate her tremor?

A. Propranolol (Inderal)

B. Paroxetine (Paxil)

C. Carbidopa/levodopa (Sinemet)

D. Bromocriptine (Parlodel)

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4

Topic: Seizure
Subject: Medicine
Of the following, which is the most frequent cause of seizures in the elderly?

A. Alcohol withdrawal

B. Stroke

C. Head trauma

D. Hypoglycemia

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4

Topic: Amnesia
Subject: Medicine
Which of the following medications may cause amnesia as a side effect?

A. Hydroxyzine

B. Fluoxetine

C. Triazolam

D. Clonidine

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4

Topic: Organophosphate poisoning
Subject: Medicine
What is the mechanism of action in organophosphate poisoning?

A. Cholinesterase inhibition

B. Cholinesterase activation

C. Catecholamine inhibition

D. Catecholamine activation

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4

Topic: Bell's Palsy
Subject: Medicine
A 53-year-old male accountant comes to your office with progressive facial weakness on the left side that began yesterday. He also reports pain behind the left ear and decreased lacrimation from the left eye. He has been in good health and had his yearly physical examination 1 week ago, which was normal. His lipid levels, chemistry profile, and CBC were all normal. He has not been involved in any outdoor activities, nor does he engage in any high-risk sexual behavior. On examination, there is flattening of the left nasolabial fold and decreased ability to close the left eye. The mouth appears to be drawn to the right. The remainder of his general examination and neurologic examination are normal.
Which one of the following would be the most appropriate management at this time?

A. Carotid ultrasonography

B. High-resolution CT

C. MRI with gadolinium enhancement

D. Prednisone and valacyclovir (Valtrex)

What is the correct answer?

4

Topic: Adverse Drug Effect
Subject: Medicine
During the morning rounds, a second year resident presents a patient as a 58-year-old female who suffers from rigidity and tremors. She has been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease involving the depigmentation of substantia nigra and loss of dopaminergic input to basal ganglia. Identify the medication that would worsen rather than improve this patient's condition?

A. Levodopa

B. Bromocriptine

C. Chlorpromazine

D. Pergolide

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4

Topic: Diagnostic Investigations
Subject: Medicine
A 52 year old male with a history of psychosis presents with muscle stiffness and resting tremors, associated with difficulty in balance and initiating movements. What is the best diagnostic method for detection of the above condition?

A. Serum dopamine levels

B. Computed tomography scan

C. Positron emission tomography scan

D. Magnetic resonance imaging