All practice questions

A 52-year-old man is evaluated in the intensive care unit following a massive aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. He is deeply comatose, mechanically ventilated, and exhibits no spontaneous movements. The critical care team suspects progression to brain death and plans to formally evaluate him. Assume that during the planned evaluation, the patient develops refractory hypotension immediately upon being disconnected from the ventilator.

Arrange the following steps in the correct chronological sequence for the evaluation and management of this patient:

Match each clinical scenario in advanced illness with the most appropriate next step in targeted symptom management.

A 28-year-old man is brought to the emergency department after a high-speed motor vehicle collision. He has sustained a severe traumatic brain injury with clinical signs of increasing intracranial pressure and impending herniation. He also has a massive splenic laceration with active intra-abdominal hemorrhage, and his systolic blood pressure is trending downward despite aggressive fluid resuscitation.

The trauma surgery attending physician states that the patient must be taken immediately to the operating room for an exploratory laparotomy to control the intra-abdominal bleeding. The neurosurgery attending physician insists that the patient must first undergo an emergent decompressive craniectomy to prevent fatal brain herniation. Both physicians strongly defend their respective life-saving interventions, refusing to concede the priority of their procedure. The disagreement results in a tense standstill in the trauma bay as the patient's hemodynamic status continues to deteriorate.

Which of the following is the most appropriate next step to resolve this interprofessional conflict?

A 28-year-old woman, currently at 12 weeks gestation with her first pregnancy, presents to the clinic to discuss her recent laboratory results. Routine prenatal screening confirms a new diagnosis of HIV infection. Her CD4 cell count is 450 cells/mm³ and her HIV viral load is 45,000 copies/mL. She is currently asymptomatic. Upon hearing the diagnosis, the patient becomes distressed and states, "I read online that HIV medications are toxic to the baby's development. I absolutely refuse to take any medications until after my baby is born. Also, I do not want any of my family members to know about this. You must promise not to report my diagnosis to anyone, not even the government." Which of the following is the most appropriate physician response to counsel this patient?

Match each type of health economic evaluation with the appropriate clinical or policy scenario that best characterizes its methodology.

A 42-year-old man is admitted to the inpatient medical service with a severe necrotizing soft-tissue infection of his left lower extremity, secondary to intravenous drug use. The surgical service evaluates the patient and strongly recommends urgent surgical debridement to prevent systemic toxicity and limb loss. The patient has a documented history of severe, treatment-refractory schizophrenia. Currently, he is experiencing active auditory hallucinations and expresses a fixed belief that hospital dietary staff are placing tracking devices in his food.

When the attending surgeon discusses the proposed operation, the patient states: "I know my leg is badly infected from shooting heroin. I heard you say that if I don't get the dead tissue cut out, the poison will spread and I could die. But ten years ago, I almost died from an allergic reaction to the anesthesia gas. I am not taking that risk again. You can give me the IV antibiotics, but no one is cutting into me."

The patient is alert and oriented to person, place, and time. His vital signs are stable, though he has a low-grade fever. Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in the management of this patient?

A physician is preparing to disclose a new diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer to a 62-year-old patient in the clinic. According to the widely accepted SPIKES protocol for delivering bad news, arrange the following physician actions in the correct chronological order from first to last.

A 62-year-old woman is admitted to the general medical ward for management of acute decompensated heart failure and is started on intravenous furosemide. At 11:30 PM, the cross-cover physician is paged because the patient's urine output has been only 40 mL over the past 4 hours, and her blood pressure has decreased to 86/54 mm Hg from a baseline of 110/70 mm Hg. The day-shift physician's written sign-out lists the patient's primary diagnosis, current diuretic dosage, and morning laboratory results. However, it provides no instructions regarding parameters for holding the diuretic, administering fluids, or escalating care if oliguria or hypotension develops. Consequently, the cross-cover physician must spend 25 minutes reviewing the electronic medical record to safely determine the next appropriate intervention. Which of the following elements of a standardized clinical handoff was most critically omitted in this scenario?

A 36-year-old obstetrician-gynecologist is observed by a fellow attending physician on the labor and delivery unit. Over the past two weeks, the physician has exhibited pressured speech, increased pacing, and has sent several inappropriate, tangential emails to hospital staff at all hours of the night. Today, he is scheduled to perform an elective cesarean delivery in 30 minutes. He tells his colleague that he has not slept in four days because his "mind is racing with brilliant ideas," and he excitedly describes a "revolutionary" new surgical technique he plans to attempt on the patient today, despite having no prior training in the method. The patient is currently in the preoperative holding area and is hemodynamically stable. Which of the following is the most legally and ethically appropriate next step for the fellow attending physician?

A 28-year-old man presents to the emergency department with a 4-cm laceration on his left forearm. He initially states he cut himself on a piece of broken glass. However, while the physician is suturing the wound, the patient admits that his roommate slashed him with a kitchen knife during a heated argument over rent. The patient is hemodynamically stable, and the wound is superficial, requiring only simple interrupted sutures. After the repair, the patient becomes visibly anxious and says, 'Please do not call the police. My roommate is going through a really tough time right now. If he gets arrested, he will lose his job and be evicted. I am moving out tomorrow to stay with my brother, so I will be perfectly safe.' Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in management?

A resident physician working on a medical ward is urgently called to evaluate a patient. A nurse reports that they accidentally administered an intravenous dose of insulin meant for the neighboring bed to this non-diabetic patient. The patient’s point-of-care blood glucose is currently 42 mg/dL, and they are becoming lethargic and diaphoretic. Arrange the following steps in the most appropriate chronological order for the physician to take regarding this medical error.

A 62-year-old woman is evaluated in the clinic to review the results of a recent core needle biopsy of a breast mass. The biopsy results confirm invasive ductal carcinoma. The physician is preparing to deliver this diagnosis to the patient. According to the SPIKES protocol for delivering bad news, arrange the following physician actions in the most appropriate chronological order.

A 61-year-old man with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer presents to an outpatient oncology clinic for a scheduled chemotherapy infusion. The oncologist reviews the patient's chart and enters an order for intravenous cisplatin. Ten minutes later, the clinical pharmacist reviewing the order notes that the patient's comprehensive metabolic panel, drawn that morning, shows a serum creatinine of $2.6$ mg/dL, which is a significant increase from his baseline of $1.0$ mg/dL one month ago. Recognizing that cisplatin is highly nephrotoxic and contraindicated in the setting of acute kidney injury, the pharmacist immediately pages the oncologist. The oncologist acknowledges the oversight, cancels the cisplatin order, and prescribes an appropriate, non-nephrotoxic alternative regimen. The patient receives the alternative chemotherapy without any complications. Which of the following best classifies this safety event?

Evaluate the following physician scenarios involving potential conflicts of interest and pair each with the primary legal statute or ethical principle that it violates.

A 75-year-old man with end-stage heart failure is receiving home hospice care. He is fully alert, oriented, and has decision-making capacity. Over the past hour, he has developed severe dyspnea and is visibly distressed. His estranged wife, who is not his designated healthcare proxy, arrives to visit. She becomes panicked by his breathing difficulties and demands that he be taken to the emergency department immediately to be placed on a mechanical ventilator. The patient has a documented out-of-hospital Do Not Resuscitate/Do Not Intubate (DNR/DNI) order and clearly states, "I do not want to go to the hospital; I just want something to help me breathe easier right now." Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in management?

A 50-year-old woman presents to the clinic for a health maintenance examination. Her medical history includes hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and bulimia nervosa. Her daily medications are amlodipine and atorvastatin. During the visit, she mentions that she recently started smoking cigarettes again due to stress at work, bringing her total lifetime smoking history to 5 pack-years. She expresses a strong desire to quit smoking today. Her husband, who is accompanying her, interrupts to say that her anxiety is so severe lately that she is not competent to make her own medical decisions. As part of the patient's comprehensive counseling and health education, which of the following statements by the physician is most appropriate?

A 65-year-old man presents to the ambulatory care office for a follow-up visit one week after being diagnosed with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. His past medical history is also significant for severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. At his previous visit, he was prescribed apixaban for stroke prevention based on a CHA $_2$ DS $_2$-VASc score of 3. Today, the patient states, "I prefer to avoid synthetic medications whenever possible. I have been taking an over-the-counter St. John's wort supplement for the past year to help with occasional sadness. I would rather just take my supplement along with a daily aspirin instead of this new prescription." The patient is alert, fully oriented, and accurately describes the risks of untreated atrial fibrillation, but he expresses a strong personal distrust of pharmaceutical companies. Which of the following is the most appropriate physician response to educate and counsel this patient?

A 72-year-old man is evaluated in the clinic to discuss the results of a recent colonoscopy. Biopsies of a large cecal mass confirm adenocarcinoma. The patient has a history of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and mild Alzheimer dementia. His physical examination is unremarkable. The physician recommends surgical resection of the mass. The patient states, "I understand that I have cancer in my colon and that without surgery, it will eventually spread and end my life. However, I watched my brother suffer through multiple complications after major abdominal surgery. I am 72 years old, my memory is starting to fail, and I want to spend whatever time I have left comfortably at home with my wife, not recovering in a hospital." The patient's son, who is his designated healthcare proxy, is present at the visit and strongly disagrees, insisting that the physician schedule the surgery immediately. Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in management?

A first-year internal medicine resident is receiving a telephone sign-out from an emergency department physician regarding a 54-year-old man being admitted for melena and suspected upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The patient's initial hemoglobin was 8.2 g/dL. He has received intravenous pantoprazole and 1 liter of normal saline. His vital signs are currently stable. During the transition of care, the emergency physician provides a brief clinical summary and states, "He is stable now and resting comfortably. We have typed and crossed him for 2 units of packed red blood cells. Just keep a close eye on him tonight, and if his hemoglobin drops further or he looks worse, go ahead and transfuse him." Which of the following is the most appropriate next step by the receiving resident to optimize patient safety during this handoff?

An initial ambulatory care visit is conducted for a 76-year-old male patient who recently relocated to the area to live with his family. He reports feeling well without any acute clinical symptoms. His past medical history is significant for essential hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and mild osteoarthritis. His daily medication regimen consists of lisinopril, atorvastatin, and as-needed acetaminophen. He reports a continuous smoking history of one pack per day starting at age 18 and ending at age 56, maintaining complete abstinence since that time. He denies any lifetime alcohol consumption or recreational drug use. Previous cancer surveillance includes a structurally normal colonoscopy performed 5 years ago at age 71. A detailed review of his state immunization registry and transferred medical records shows the administration of a tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) booster 2 years ago, a seasonal influenza vaccine 2 weeks ago, and a complete two-dose series of the recombinant zoster vaccine at age 66. He has no documented history of receiving a pneumococcal immunization, a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization, or any serological screening for viral hepatitis. Vital signs are within normal limits, and the physical examination is completely unremarkable.

Based on current evidence-based guidelines, which of the following preventive health interventions should be ordered or administered for this patient today? (Select all that apply.)