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  • Question 1 - A cohort study is being designed to look at the relationship between smoking...

    Correct

    • A cohort study is being designed to look at the relationship between smoking and prostate cancer. What is the usual outcome measure in a cohort study?

      Your Answer: Relative risk

      Explanation:

      A cohort study is a particular form of longitudinal study that samples a cohort (a group of people who share a defining characteristic, typically those who experienced a common event in a selected period, such as birth or graduation), performing a cross-section at intervals through time.
      The relative risk (RR) or risk ratio is the ratio of the probability of an outcome in an exposed group to the probability of an outcome in an unexposed group. Relative risk is used in the statistical analysis of the data of experimental, cohort and cross-sectional studies, to estimate the strength of the association between treatments or risk factors, and outcomes.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Clinical Sciences
      7.9
      Seconds
  • Question 2 - A 65 yr. old heavy smoker presented with acute central chest pain for...

    Correct

    • A 65 yr. old heavy smoker presented with acute central chest pain for 2 hours. Which of the following ECG findings is an indication for thrombolysis in this patient?

      Your Answer: 1 mm ST elevation in 2 limb leads

      Explanation:

      Thrombolytic therapy is indicated in patients with evidence of ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) or presumably new left bundle-branch block (LBBB) presenting within 12 hours of the onset of symptoms if there are no contraindications to fibrinolysis. STEMI is defined as new ST elevation at the J point in at least two contiguous leads of 2 mm (0.2 mV) or more in men or 1.5 mm (0.15 mV) in women in leads V2-V3 and/or 1 mm (0.1 mV) or more in other contiguous limb leads.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Cardiology
      14.5
      Seconds
  • Question 3 - A 55-year-old female inpatient in a psychiatric hospital has stopped eating or drinking...

    Correct

    • A 55-year-old female inpatient in a psychiatric hospital has stopped eating or drinking as she believes she is dead and does not require food anymore. Which syndrome is characteristic of this finding?

      Your Answer: Cotard syndrome

      Explanation:

      The most probable diagnosis of this patient is Cotard syndrome.

      Cotard syndrome is a rare mental disorder where the affected patient believes that they (or in some cases just a part of their body) is either dead or non-existent. This delusion is often difficult to treat and can result in significant problems due to patients stopping eating or drinking as they deem it not necessary. Cotard syndrome is often associated with severe depression and psychotic disorders.

      Other delusional syndromes:
      – Othello syndrome is a delusional belief that a patients partner is committing infidelity despite no evidence of this. It can often result in violence and controlling behaviour.
      – De Clerambault syndrome (otherwise known as erotomania), is where a patient believes that a person of higher social or professional standing is in love with them. Often this presents with people who believe celebrities are in love with them.
      – Capgras syndrome is characterised by a person believing their friend or relative had been replaced by an exact double.
      – Couvade syndrome is also known as ‘sympathetic pregnancy’. It affects fathers, particularly during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, who suffer the somatic features of pregnancy.
      – Ekbom syndrome is also known as delusional parasitosis and is the belief that they are infected with parasites or have ‘bugs’ under their skin. This can vary from the classic psychosis symptoms in narcotic use where the user can ‘see’ bugs crawling under their skin or can be a patient who believes that they are infested with snakes.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Psychiatry
      11.5
      Seconds
  • Question 4 - A 50-year-old man is found incidentally to have hypercalcaemia during a routine health...

    Incorrect

    • A 50-year-old man is found incidentally to have hypercalcaemia during a routine health screen. Which one of the following biochemical findings would be most suggestive of primary hyperparathyroidism rather than any other cause of hypercalcaemia?

      Your Answer: Low serum concentration of calcitriol (1,25- dihydroxycholecalciferol)

      Correct Answer: Serum PTH concentration within the normal range

      Explanation:

      Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is diagnosed based upon levels of blood calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH). In most people with PHPT, both levels are higher than normal. Occasionally, a person may have an elevated calcium level and a normal or minimally elevated PTH level. Since PTH should normally be low when calcium is elevated, a minimally elevated PTH is considered abnormal and indicates PHPT.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Endocrinology
      35.1
      Seconds
  • Question 5 - A 76-year-old male presents with recurrent episodes of hallucinations. He often sees faces...

    Incorrect

    • A 76-year-old male presents with recurrent episodes of hallucinations. He often sees faces smaller than normal or other objects out of proportion. He says he knows they're not real. His past medical history includes macular degeneration and an episode of depression 15 years ago following the death of his wife. Neurological examination is unremarkable. What is the most probable diagnosis?

      Your Answer: Schizophrenia

      Correct Answer: Charles-Bonnet syndrome

      Explanation:

      The most probable diagnosis in the given scenario would be Charles-Bonnet syndrome.

      Charles-Bonnet syndrome (CBS) is characterized by persistent or recurrent complex hallucinations (usually visual or auditory), occurring in clear consciousness. This is generally against a background of visual impairment (although visual impairment is not mandatory for a diagnosis). Insight is usually preserved. This must occur in the absence of any other significant neuropsychiatric disturbance.

      Risk factors include:
      Advanced age
      Peripheral visual impairment
      Social isolation
      Sensory deprivation
      Early cognitive impairment

      CBS is equally distributed between sexes and does not show any familial predisposition. The most common ophthalmological conditions associated with this syndrome are age-related macular degeneration, followed by glaucoma and cataract.

      Well-formed complex visual hallucinations are thought to occur in 10-30 percent of individuals with severe visual impairment. The prevalence of CBS in visually impaired people is thought to be between 11 and 15 percent.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Psychiatry
      17.1
      Seconds
  • Question 6 - A 33-year-old artist who recently arrived in the UK from New York presents...

    Correct

    • A 33-year-old artist who recently arrived in the UK from New York presents in ED. He has a past history of insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus. He describes a few days of fever, headache and myalgia. Admission was prompted by worsening headache and back pain. While waiting in the medical receiving unit, he becomes progressively drowsier. Examination revealed flaccid paralysis and depressed tendon reflexes. He was reviewed by the intensive care team and arrangements were made for ventilation. A computerised tomography (CT) brain is performed that is normal. Cerebrospinal fluid examination reveals: Protein 0.9 g/l (<0.45 g/l) Glucose 4 mmol/L, White cell count (WCC) 28/mm3 (mostly lymphocytes) Blood testing reveals: Haemoglobin (Hb) 14 g/dl (13–18) Platelets 620 x 109/l (150–400 x 109) WCC 12 x 109/l (4–11 x 109) Sodium 135 mmol/l (137–144) Potassium 4.6 mmol/l (3.5–4.9) Urea 8 mmol/l (2.5–7.5) Creatinine 120 mmol/l (60–110) Glucose 6 mmol/L, Which of the following is the most likely infective process?

      Your Answer: West Nile disease

      Explanation:

      West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA flavivirus transmitted via the culex mosquito. This previously ‘tropical’ disease has became topical in recent years following a large scale outbreak in the New York area. Incidence of neurological involvement is around 1%, although some suggest that the incidence of meningoencephalitis in America is higher than in other parts of the world. Risk factors for neurological involvement include increasing age, and immunosuppression. The usual picture is of sudden onset fever and myalgia with nausea and vomiting and a non-specific rash. Transient meningitis is occasionally seen. Frank meningoencephalitis is seen in two-thirds of cases with neurological involvement; 15% progress to coma. A flaccid paralysis similar to acute Guillain–Barré is increasingly recognised.
      Diagnosis is initially clinical with subsequent serological confirmation. Treatment is supportive; results from trials of antivirals have yielded disappointing results.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Neurology
      51.9
      Seconds
  • Question 7 - A 21 year-old male, who is a known alcoholic, presents with a fever,...

    Correct

    • A 21 year-old male, who is a known alcoholic, presents with a fever, haemoptysis, green sputum and an effusion clinically. There is concern that it may be an empyema.   Which test would be most useful to resolve the suspicion?

      Your Answer: Pleural fluid pH

      Explanation:

      If a pleural effusion is present, a diagnostic thoracentesis may be performed and analysed for pH, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose levels, specific gravity, and cell count with differential. Pleural fluid may also be sent for Gram stain, culture, and sensitivity. Acid-fast bacillus testing may also be considered and the fluid may be sent for cytology if cancer is suspected.

      The following findings are suggestive of an empyema or parapneumonic effusion that will likely need a chest tube or pigtail catheter for complete resolution:
      -Grossly purulent pleural fluid
      -pH level less than 7.2
      -WBC count greater than 50,000 cells/µL (or polymorphonuclear leukocyte count of 1,000 IU/dL)
      -Glucose level less than 60 mg/dL
      -Lactate dehydrogenase level greater than 1,000 IU/mL
      -Positive pleural fluid culture

      The most often used golden criteria for empyema are pleural effusion with macroscopic presence of pus, a positive Gram stain or culture of pleural fluid, or a pleural fluid pH under 7.2 with normal peripheral blood ph.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Respiratory
      23.6
      Seconds
  • Question 8 - A 65 yr. old male patient presented with acute severe central chest pain...

    Correct

    • A 65 yr. old male patient presented with acute severe central chest pain for one hour. His ECG confirmed the diagnosis of acute ST elevation myocardial infarction and he was treated with thrombolysis. Two days later he developed sudden onset breathlessness and became unwell. On examination he had bibasal crepitation and a systolic murmur at the apex which radiated to the axilla. Which of the following is the most likely cause for this presentation?

      Your Answer: Ruptured papillary muscle

      Explanation:

      The most likely cause for acute breathlessness is due to papillary muscle rupture which causes mitral regurgitation.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Cardiology
      15.2
      Seconds
  • Question 9 - A 20-year-old gentleman presents to the A&E department complaining of a sudden-onset occipital...

    Incorrect

    • A 20-year-old gentleman presents to the A&E department complaining of a sudden-onset occipital headache associated with vomiting. His symptoms started 2 hours previously and are continuing. He has a previous history of infrequent migraine without aura, which also causes nausea but not vomiting. He rated his current headache as much more severe than his usual migraine. Examination is unremarkable. In particular, there is no neck stiffness or photophobia. Which of the following management options would be the most appropriate?

      Your Answer: Immediate lumbar puncture, to exclude meningitis and subarachnoid haemorrhage

      Correct Answer: CT brain scan, followed by lumbar puncture if CT normal

      Explanation:

      The patient presented with sudden-onset headache that is more painful than his usual migraine attacks. This gives a high suspicion of subarachnoid haemorrhage; thus, a CT brain scan should be ordered first to rule this out. However, a normal CT scan is apparent in 30% of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage and should be referred for lumbar puncture to look for red blood cells.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Neurology
      29.9
      Seconds
  • Question 10 - A 6-year-old boy is referred by his GP to the neurology clinic with...

    Correct

    • A 6-year-old boy is referred by his GP to the neurology clinic with abnormal movements. His mother noticed that for the last year, the boy has been falling over more and more frequently. He has also been having increasingly slurred speech. These have been getting progressively worse. He has had recurrent chest infections in his childhood. What is the most likely diagnosis?

      Your Answer: Ataxic telangiectasia

      Explanation:

      Ataxic telangiectasia is an inherited combined immunodeficiency disorder that is characterised by cerebellar ataxia and telangiectasia as seen in this child, as well as frequent infections as noted in this child’s history. The other differentials would not present with this clinical picture:

      Friedreich’s ataxia and Infantile-onset spinocerebellar ataxia do not present with immune problems, whereas Cerebral palsy and Di-George Syndrome do not present with ataxia.

    • This question is part of the following fields:

      • Neurology
      14.1
      Seconds

SESSION STATS - PERFORMANCE PER SPECIALTY

Clinical Sciences (1/1) 100%
Cardiology (2/2) 100%
Psychiatry (1/2) 50%
Endocrinology (0/1) 0%
Neurology (2/3) 67%
Respiratory (1/1) 100%
Passmed