AAFP Board Review #42

A 68-year-old male presents to your office with a 2-day history of headache, muscle aches, and chills. His wife adds that his temperature has been up to 104.1°F and he seems confused sometimes. His symptoms have not improved with usual care, including ibuprofen and increased fluid intake. He and his wife returned from a cruise 10 days ago but don’t recall anyone having a similar illness on the ship. This morning he started to cough and his wife was concerned because she saw some blood in his sputum. He also states that he experiences intermittent shortness of breath and feels nauseated. His blood pressure is 100/70 mm Hg, heart rate 98/min, temperature 39.4°C (102.9°F), and oxygen saturation 95% on room air.

Which one of the following would be the preferred method to confirm your suspected diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease?  (check one)

• Initiating azithromycin (Zithromax) to see if symptoms improve

• A chest radiograph

• Legionella polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing

• A sputum culture for Legionella

• Urine testing for Legionella pneumophila antigen

Which one of the following factors related to pregnancy and delivery increases the risk of developmental dysplasia of the hip in infants?  (check one)

• A large-for-gestational age infant

• Twin birth

• Breech presentation

• Cesarean delivery

• Premature birth

A healthy 2-month-old female is brought to your office for a routine well baby examination by both of her parents, who have no concerns. The parents refuse routine recommended vaccines for their daughter because of their personal beliefs.

You want to incorporate patient-centeredness and are also concerned about improving the health of the population. You decide to follow the CDC recommendations by  (check one)

• accepting their decision without further action

• not offering vaccines at future visits to preserve a positive doctor-patient relationship

• having the parents sign a refusal to vaccinate form

• dismissing the family from the practice

• pursuing a court order for vaccine administration since the child has no medical exemptions

A 50-year-old male carpet layer presents with swelling of his right knee proximal to the patella. He does not have any history of direct trauma, fever, chills, or changes in the overlying skin. On examination the site is swollen but minimally tender, with no warmth or erythema.

Which one of the following would be most appropriate at this point?   (check one)

• Rest, ice, and compression

• Aspiration of fluid for analysis

• Injection of a corticosteroid

• An oral corticosteroid taper

• Referral to an orthopedic surgeon for resection

An 85-year-old female with a previous history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dementia, and peptic ulcer disease has been in a skilled nursing facility for 4 weeks for rehabilitation after a hip fracture repair secondary to a fall during an ischemic stroke. She is transported to the emergency department today when she develops confusion, shortness of breath, and diaphoresis. Her blood pressure is 172/98 mm Hg, her heart rate is 122 beats/min with an irregular rhythm, and her respiratory rate is 22/min. An EKG demonstrates atrial fibrillation and 0.2 mV ST-segment elevation compared to previous EKGs. Her first troponin level is elevated.

Which one of the following conditions in this patient is considered an ABSOLUTE contraindication to fibrinolytic therapy? (check one)

• Poorly controlled hypertension

• Peptic ulcer disease

• Alzheimer’s dementia

• Hip fracture repair

• Ischemic stroke

An otherwise healthy 57-year-old female presents with a sudden onset of hearing loss. She awoke this morning unable to hear out of her left ear. There was no preceding illness and she currently feels well otherwise. She does not have ear pain, headache, runny nose, congestion, or fever, and she does not take any daily medications.

On examination you note normal vital signs and find a normal ear, with no obstructing cerumen and with normal tympanic membrane motion on pneumatic otoscopy. You perform a Weber test by placing a tuning fork over her central forehead. She finds that the sound lateralizes to her right ear. The Rinne test shows sounds are heard better with bone conduction on the left and with air conduction on the right.

You refer her to an otolaryngologist for further evaluation including audiometry. You should also consider initiating which one of the following medications at this visit in order to optimize the likelihood of recovery? (check one)

• Acyclovir (Zovirax)

• Amoxicillin/clavulanate (Augmentin)

• Aspirin

• Nifedipine (Procardia)

• Prednisone

You are the team physician for the local high school track team. During a meet one of the athletes inadvertently steps off the edge of the track and inverts her right foot forcefully. She is able to bear weight but with significant pain. She reports pain across her right midfoot. An examination reveals edema over the lateral malleolus and diffuse tenderness, but she does not have any pain with palpation of the navicular, the base of the fifth metatarsal, or the posterior distal lateral and medial malleoli.

Which one of the following would be most appropriate at this time?  (check one)

• Radiographs of the right ankle only

• Radiographs of the right foot only

• Radiographs of the right foot and ankle

• Lace-up ankle support, ice, compression, and clinical follow-up

• Crutches and no weight bearing for 2 weeks, followed by a slow return to weight bearing

A 65-year-old male with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnea sees you for follow-up. He does not use tobacco or other drugs, and his alcohol consumption consists of two drinks per day. His BMI is 31 kg/m2, and he just started a fitness program. The patient tells you that his brother was recently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and he asks you if this increases his own risk.

Which one of the following factors would increase the risk of atrial fibrillation in this patient?   (check one)

• Alcohol use

• Treatment with lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril)

• Treatment with pioglitazone (Actos)

• Use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device

• Physical stress

You have diagnosed a 32-year-old female with moderate iron deficiency anemia, presumed to be due to chronic menstrual blood loss. She has no gastrointestinal or genitourinary symptoms, and no bruising or bleeding other than menstrual bleeding. Her vital signs are normal and a physical examination is unremarkable. You initiate a trial of oral iron therapy.

Which one of the following would be the best way to assess the patient’s response to oral iron?  (check one)

• A reticulocyte count in 1–2 weeks

• A repeat hematocrit in 2 weeks

• A peripheral smear to look for new RBCs in 4 weeks

• A serum total iron binding capacity and ferritin level in 6 weeks

You see an adult patient who has chronic urticaria and no other known chronic conditions. He continues to experience hives after a 3-month course of daily loratadine (Claritin).

Which one of the following would be the most appropriate addition to his treatment regimen at this time? (check one)

• short course of oral corticosteroids

• Cyclosporine

• Ranitidine (Zantac)

• Narrow-band UV light treatment