USMLE Step 3 Question of the Week #495

495.  A 49-year-old obese female presents with abdominal pain.  Patient states the pain acutely onset several hours ago and describes it as constant, severe, localized around the umbilicus and radiating to her back.  She says the pain feels better if she is sitting up and bending slightly forward.   Patient also says she feels nauseous and vomited once after the pain began.  No relevant past medical or surgical history.  No current medications or allergies.  Review of systems is significant for several recent episodes of abdominal pain after eating.

On exam, the patient is in distress, sitting upright, and leaning slightly forward.  Vitals are temperature 38.3 °C (101.1 °F), blood pressure 110/78 mm Hg, pulse 105/min, respirations 25/min, and oxygen saturation 98% on room air.  Cardiac exam is normal.  Lungs are clear to auscultation.  Abdominal exam reveals tenderness to palpation in the periumbilical region.  Bowel sounds are diminished.

Laboratory values are:

Sodium                                                            140 mEq/L

Potassium                                                        4.0 mEqL

Chloride                                                          100 mEq/L

Bicarbonate                                                    25 mEq/L

BUN                                                                 35 mg/dL

Creatinine                                                       1.1 g mg/dL

Glucose (fasting)                                             90 mg/dL

Calcium                                                           7.0 mg/dL

Phosphorous                                                    4.1 mg/dL

Bilirubin, conjugated                                      1.5 mg/dL

Bilirubin, total                                                 3.0 mg/dL

AST (SGOT)                                                      325 mU/mL

ALT (SGPT)                                                      175 mU/mL

Alkaline Phosphatase                                      295 U/L

Amylase                                                          250 U/L

Lipase                                                              89 U/L

TSH                                                                  1.1 mIU/L

PTH                                                                  30 pg/mL

Troponin I (cTnI)                                             <0.02 ng/mL

Lactate Deydrogenase (LDH)                          750 U/L

C-reactive protein                                           45 mg/L

b-hCG                                                              <1 mIU/mL

 

WBC                                                                19,000 / mm3

RBC                                                                 4 x 106/mm3

Hematocrit                                                      45%

Hemoglobin                                                    13.0 g/dL

Platelet Count                                                 275,000 / mm3

Differential

Neutrophils (%)                                               85

Lymphocytes (%)                                             10

Monocytes (%)                                                5

Eosinophils (%)                                                3.5

Basophils (%)                                                   1.5

Chest and KUB x-rays, and EKG are unremarkable.

Aggressive fluid resuscitation and supplemental 100% oxygen are given.  Meperidine 150 mg intramuscularly is administered.  Abdominal ultrasound reveals the presence of a gallstone in the common bile duct (CBD).  Patient is kept NPO.

What is the next best step in management?


A. Contrast CT of the abdomen

B. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)

C. Administer meropenem 1 g IV every 8 hours

D. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy

E. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP)

@hagemanGIstep2

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USMLE Step 3 Question #487

487) 57-year-old male with a history of mild COPD has been using albuterol as needed to manage his COPD without any other maintenance medications. Recently he has been experiencing a greater degree of shortness of breath, wheezing and a productive cough. Pulmonary function tests demonstrate a FEV1 that is 60% of predicted. What is the next best step for management of his COPD?

A. Add budesonide to treatment regimen

B. Add rofilumast to treatment regimen

C. Add tiotropium to treatment regimen

D. Add tiotropium plus fluticasone to treatment regimen

E. Add carbocystine to treatment regimen

 

USMLE STep 3 Question #486

A 56-year-old male with Type II diabetes presents to you today for a follow-up visit. Three months prior his A1c was 8.9% and he was started on metformin. Today his A1c is 7.4%. He is significantly overweight with a BMI of 33. You would like to initiate another medication for glucose control, specifically one that does not carry a risk of weight gain. Which of the following drugs is weight neutral?

  • A.  Glimepride
  • B. Rosiglitazone
  • C.  Pioglitazone
  • D. Sitagliptin
  • E. Glyburide

Question of the Week #485

485. A 10-year-old female presents with a 3 week history of cough.  Initially she had a runny nose and was tired with a slight cough but as the runny nose resolved the cough seemed to get worse.  She states that the cough is dry sounding and occurs during the day and night.  She describes having coughing spasms that occasionally end in vomiting but between episodes of coughing she is fine.  Her mom reports that during a coughing spasm she will gasp for air and sometimes make a “whooping” noise.  A nasopharyngeal swab confirms a diagnosis of Bordatella pertussis.  Which of the following is true?

A. Her 3-month-old brother should be treated with azithromycin as prophylaxis

B. She should be started on azithromycin for more rapid resolution of cough.

C. Her classmates should be treated with clarithromycin as prophylaxis

D. She will have lifelong natural immunity against Bordatella pertussis.

E. Her classmates should receive a Tdap booster regardless of their vaccination status

Question of the Week #483

BACKGROUND:

Beta-blockers reduce mortality in patients who have chronic heart failure, systolic dysfunction, and are on background treatment with diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. We aimed to compare the effects of carvedilol and metoprolol on clinical outcome.

METHODS:

In a multicenter, double blind, and randomized parallel group trial, we assigned 1511 patients with chronic heart failure to treatment with carvedilol (target dose 25 mg twice daily) and 1518 to metoprolol (metoprolol tartrate, target dose 50 mg twice daily). Patients were required to have chronic heart failure (NYHA II-IV), previous admission for a cardiovascular reason, an ejection fraction of less than 0.35, and to have been treated optimally with diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors unless not tolerated. The primary endpoints were all-cause mortality and the composite endpoint of all-cause mortality or all-cause admission. Analysis was done by intention to treat.

FINDINGS:

The mean study duration was 58 months (SD 6). The mean ejection fraction was 0.26 (0.07) and the mean age 62 years (11). The all-cause mortality was 34% (512 of 1511) for carvedilol and 40% (600 of 1518) for metoprolol (hazard ratio 0.83 [95% CI 0.74-0.93], p=0.0017). The reduction of all-cause mortality was consistent across predefined subgroups. Incidence of side effects and drug withdrawals did not differ by much between the two study groups.

 

  1. To which of the following patients are the results of this clinical trial applicable?
    1. A 62-year-old male with primarily diastolic congestive heart failure.
    2. A 75-year-old female with systolic dysfunction and an EF of 45%.
    3. A 56-year-old male with NYHA class I systolic heart failure.
    4. A newly diagnosed 66-year-old male who has yet to begin treatment for his NYHA class II systolic heart failure.
    5. A 68-year-old male with NYHA class II systolic heart failure and EF 30%.

 

Question of the Week # 174

174) A 52 year old African-american woman is seen in the office during a regular follow-up visit. Her history is significant for diabetes mellitus and hypertension. She has been suffering from cough over the past two weeks.  She feels that there is a tickle at the back of the throat which leads to paroxysms of coughing. Her medications include Aspirin, Glipizide, atorvastatin, enalapril and Hydrochlorthiazide.  Enalapril was started 3 weeks ago at a low dose of 5mg/day. On examination, blood pressure is 132/90 mm Hg seated and standing.  Her physical examination is normal.  Laboratory values reveal a serum creatinine concentration of 1.8mg/dl. Her baseline creatinine  1 month ago was 1.5mg%. Which of the following is not an indication to stop ACE inhibitor?

A)     Swelling of the lips and tongue

B)      20% increase in serum creatinine

C)      Intractable severe cough

D)     Serum potassium of 6.5mmol/L

E)      Hypovolemia with shock

Question of the Week # 148

148)  A 55 year old nurse has recently been exposed to an in-patient with active Tuberculosis about 2 months ago. Her tuberculin skin test was negative a year ago however; the skin test reveals an 12 mm induration at this time. A chest x-ray is normal. She denies any cough or fever or weightloss. A comprehensive metabolic panel is within normal limits. She is started on Isoniazid for the treatment of latent tuberculosis. Two weeks after the therapy, patient develops edema in the face and neck, maculopapular rash, lymphadenopathy, asthenia, and a fever of 38°C. Laboratory tests reveal a WBC count 20k/µl with a differential showing neutrophils of 50%, eosinophils of 30% and lymphocytes 20%. The most appropriate next step in management:

A)     Start antifungal therapy

B)      Discontinue Isoniazid and re-administer after de-sensitization

C)      Discontinue Isoniazid and administer Rifampin for four months

D)     Start Metronidazole

E)      Change to multi-drug therapy,  Isoniazid , Pyrazinamide, Rifampin and Ethambutol

Archer USMLE Step 3 Streaming Video Lectures

Full Length Review for USMLE Step 3

Question of the Week # 72

A 55 y/o african american man with newly diagnosed Stage B prostate cancer undergoes radical prostatectomy and is referred to you from surgical clinic for routine follow up. The patient requests how often he should follow up with you and what tests he would need. Your best response is:

A) You do not need any follow up because you had a local cancer that was completely resected
B) PSA need to be tested every six months for 5 years and thereafter, every year
C) Bone scan to evaluate metastasis is needed every year
D) Digital Rectal Exam every year to look for local recurrence
E) You need endocrine therapy before we proceed further

Question of the Week # 71

Q71) A 65 y/o African American man is brought by his daughter to you and requests a PSA test because there is a hx of prostate ca in their family. You perform PSA and DRE. DRE does not reveal any palpable mass. The lab test reveal : PSA : 8ng/ml, Free PSA: 1.5ng/ml. You reveal the results to patient and his daughter. The daughter asks you if her father has a cancer. Your best response is :

A) The PSA level increases with age and your father’s PSA  is in the  age-appropriate range
B) PSA level is very nonspecific and your father does not have a cancer
C) The fact that the free PSA is only 1.5ng/ml as opposed to a bound of 6.5 indicates that your father most likely has a cancer etiology rather than benign cause
D) PSA will not help in diagnosing carcinoma prostate
E) I did this test only because you requested for it, I do not think this results mean anything.

Archer USMLE Step 3 CCS Workshop – August 22, 2010

Archer USMLE Step 3 CCS Workshop – August 22, 2010

Archer online live step 3 reviews aims to bring USMLE step 3 courses on your desktop, at your doorstep! These highly successful live USMLE Step3 online reviews are an extension of our very popular and successful ” Dr.Red’s online ccs workshop, which has reached more than two thousand step3 takers in less than 12 months and has resulted in 98% pass rate. Archer Reviews have achieved a high success rate even with examinees with multiple attempts by our unique approach. These online reviews are done live and in a webinar format. You can stay at home and listen to lectures live and like in a virtual classroom, you can raise your hand and your question will be immediately answered by the instructor. This is a live online classroom which reduces the pain of flying several miles to attend live reviews. These are the only one in the market that offer successful step 3 lectures in this unique, live format. Archer’s most successful endeavor has been Dr.Red’s CCS Workshop which has helped hundreds of examinees to pass easily by excelling on CCS component.

Archer’s next CCS online workshop for the month of January will be on Sunday 8/22/2010 at 10 AM EST.

If you are interested in registering for this course, you can pay for the course on the website at http://www.shop.ccsworkshop.com. Upon payment of the registration fee, your registration request will be automatically approved and an approval e-mail will be sent to you. This approval notice will have a button “Join Webinar” in it. Clicking this button on the day of the workshop will open up the live workshop on your desktop

To participate in the workshop, you will need a computer with internet access. For the audio, you can use either your computer’s microphone or a telephone. You will use the phone for the voice and log in to the conference call while you watch the power-point slides and the CCS demonstration on your desktop via. our unique net meeting software. You can also just opt to use your computer’s microphone in which case you do not need a telephone. Then you will get to practice a case while we watch and analyze your approach and correct it.

CCS Workshop Includes :

1. Lecture on CCS Strategies
2. Live demonstration of CCS cases
3. Common mistakes committed by the examinees and preventing them
4. Tips to score extremely high on CCS
5. Follow-ups of office and ER cases
6. Efficient use of time, doing more stuff without advancing the clock
7. Avoiding invasive tests
8. Basic set of orders for emergency cases
9. The 5-minute screen – adding/ disconinuing the orders that can matter
10. Obtaing consults and their appropriateness
11. Differential diagnosis for common ER and office presentations and easy tips to get the most out of few orders.
12. Working on efficiency
13. Live practice of 15 to 20 CCS cases by the attendees in the workshop
14. A these in addition to –> 20 minutes of supervised practice of one CCS case by each attendee who volunteers to practice. About 15 to 20 Highyield CCS cases will be practiced. During this time, you will be thoroughly analyzed, corrected and given instantaneous feedback by our experienced faculty

The total course fee is $97 .Slots are limited at 35.
If you are interested in the course, you visit Archer’s online store directly to pay : http://www.shop.ccsworkshop.com

If you have further questions, please directly contact support@ccsworkshop.com

Archer’s other courses include very informative topic reviews and the high-yield rapid review – please check our website.. Archer theory reviews are now available as streaming videos so that you can start accessing them from the beginning of your step 3 preperation and fine tune your conceptual understanding to score maximum on the Multiple Choice Questions on USMLE Step 3

USMLE Step 3 CCS WORKSHOP – MAY 2010

Archer online live step 3 reviews aims to bring USMLE step 3 courses on your desktop, at your doorstep! These highly successful live USMLE Step3 online reviews are an extension of our very popular and successful ” Dr.Red’s online ccs workshop, which has reached more than two thousand step3 takers in less than 12 months and has resulted in 98% pass rate. Archer Reviews have achieved a high success rate even with examinees with multiple attempts by our unique approach. These online reviews are done live and in a webinar format. You can stay at home and listen to lectures live and like in a virtual classroom, you can raise your hand and your question will be immediately answered by the instructor. This is a live online classroom which reduces the pain of flying several miles to attend live reviews. These are the only one in the market that offer successful step 3 lectures in this unique, live format. Archer’s most successful endeavor has been Dr.Red’s CCS Workshop which has helped hundreds of examinees to pass easily by excelling on CCS component.

Archer’s next CCS online workshop for the month of January will be on Sunday 1/24/2010 at 10 AM EST.

If you are interested in registering for this course, you can pay for the course on the website at http://www.shop.ccsworkshop.com. Upon payment of the registration fee, your registration request will be automatically approved and an approval e-mail will be sent to you. This approval notice will have a button “Join Webinar” in it. Clicking this button on the day of the workshop will open up the live workshop on your desktop

To participate in the workshop, you will need a computer with internet access. For the audio, you can use either your computer’s microphone or a telephone. You will use the phone for the voice and log in to the conference call while you watch the power-point slides and the CCS demonstration on your desktop via. our unique net meeting software. You can also just opt to use your computer’s microphone in which case you do not need a telephone. Then you will get to practice a case while we watch and analyze your approach and correct it.

CCS Workshop Includes :

1. Lecture on CCS Strategies
2. Live demonstration of CCS cases
3. Common mistakes committed by the examinees and preventing them
4. Tips to score extremely high on CCS
5. Follow-ups of office and ER cases
6. Efficient use of time, doing more stuff without advancing the clock
7. Avoiding invasive tests
8. Basic set of orders for emergency cases
9. The 5-minute screen – adding/ disconinuing the orders that can matter
10. Obtaing consults and their appropriateness
11. Differential diagnosis for common ER and office presentations and easy tips to get the most out of few orders.
12. Working on efficiency
13. Live practice of 15 to 20 CCS cases by the attendees in the workshop
14. A these in addition to –> 20 minutes of supervised practice of one CCS case by each attendee who volunteers to practice. About 15 to 20 Highyield CCS cases will be practiced. During this time, you will be thoroughly analyzed, corrected and given instantaneous feedback by our experienced faculty

The total course fee is $97 .Slots are limited at 45.
If you are interested in the course, you visit Archer’s online store directly to pay : http://www.shop.ccsworkshop.com

If you have further questions, please directly contact support@ccsworkshop.com

Archer’s other courses include very informative topic reviews and the high-yield rapid review – please check our website. Next 3-Day Step 3 Rapid Review is in JULY -2010. Archer theory reviews are now available as streaming videos so that you can start accessing them from the beginning of your step 3 preperation and fine tune your conceptual understanding to score maximum on the Multiple Choice Questions on USMLE Step 3.

Excerpts from Archer Rapid Review – Nephrology by Dr.Red

this is a 30 minute clip from recent Archer USMLE Step 3 Rapid review quickly summarizing electrolyte imbalance and acid-base

The above embedded video is not displaying the video. For access to full video+ audio, click here : Nephrology