B22 Flashcards
A 34-year-old male has recently been prescribed citalopram for depression. He also has epilepsy but had been
seizure free for several years until last week.
Which of the following is most likely to have caused the seizure?
o Hypercalcaemia
o Hyperkalaemia
o Hypoglycaemia
o Hypomagnesaemia
o Hyponatraemia
Citalopram is an SSRI, and SSRIs are known to increase the risk of hyponatraemia, especially due to syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH).
Hyponatraemia lowers the seizure threshold, which could explain why the patient, previously seizure-free, had a recent seizure.
You are working in a community pharmacy on Boxing Day and a 30-year-old patient with epilepsy has asked if
you can give an emergency supply of their epilepsy medication as they have run out. You do not have a locally
commissioned emergency supply service, so you consider if they could have an emergency supply at the
request of a patient.
Which of the following drugs would you not supply as an emergency supply at the request of a patient?
o Carbamazepine
o Gabapentin
o Lamotrigine
o Phenobarbital
o Sodium Valproate
Gabapentin (sch 3)
A 54-year-old male has been taking the following medication for the past four years:
* Amlodipine 10 mg tablets – Take one daily
* Cetirizine 10 mg tablets – Take one daily when required
* Indapamide 2.5 mg tablets – Take one daily
* Ramipril 10 mg capsules – Take one daily
* Paracetamol 500 mg tablets – Take two tablets four times a day when required
The patient rings the pharmacy and tells you that they have been suffering with diarrhoea and vomiting that
started this morning.
Which one of these medicines would you recommend that they stop for 1 - 2 days until they recover?
o Amlodipine
o Cetirizine
o Indapamide
o Ramipril
o Paracetamol
Ramipril (ACE inhibitor)
Can cause or worsen acute kidney injury (AKI) in dehydrated patients.
Vomiting and diarrhoea can lead to dehydration and reduced kidney perfusion.
Stopping Ramipril temporarily (a “sick day rule”) reduces the risk of AK
2-year-old child has been prescribed ibuprofen 100mg/5ml for pain from an ear infection.
What dose is he most likely to receive?
o One 2.5 ml spoonful three times a day
o One 2.5ml spoonful four times a day
o One 5 ml spoonful three times a day
o One 5 ml spoonful and one 2.5 ml spoonful three times a day
o Two 5 ml spoonful’s three times a day
One 5ml spoonful three times a day
A 55-year-old woman enquires about hormone replacement therapy (HRT). She is in good health and is not
on any other medication but has recently started suffering with night sweats and irritability. She will be
speaking to her GP about treatment but wants to know more about the risks of HRT treatment.
Which of the risks listed are NOT associated with Hormone Replacement Therapy?
o Alopecia
o Breast cancer
o Ovarian cancer
o Stroke
o Venous thromboembolism
Alopecia
A 40-year-old man is diagnosed with Helicobacter Pylori infection. He has no allergies.
Which of the following would be the most suitable treatment regime for this gentleman?
o Lansoprazole 30mg capsules B.D, Amoxicillin 500mg capsules three times a day and Clarithromycin
500mg tablets twice daily
o Lansoprazole 30mg capsules B.D, Amoxicillin 1g capsules twice daily and Clarithromycin 500mg tablets
twice daily.
o Lansoprazole 60mg capsules B.D, Amoxicillin 1g capsules twice daily and metronidazole 400mg tablets
twice daily
o Lansoprazole 30mg capsules B.D, Amoxicillin 500mg capsules three times a day and metronidazole
400mg tablets three times a day.
o Lansoprazole 30mg B.D, Clarithromycin 500mg twice daily and Metronidazole 400mg twice daily.
Lansoprazole30mgcapsulesB.D,Amoxicillin1gcapsulestwicedailyandClarithromycin500mg
tablets twice daily.
It is a cold winter’s morning and a 9-year-old girl is being reviewed at an asthma clinic. During the review she
is complaining of increased breathlessness at breaktimes when playing outside and when she goes for bike
rides with her family at the weekend when the weather is cold. She is currently on a salbutamol inhaler which
she needs to use daily. Her PEFR is 78% at best. She is on no other medication.
Which of the following is the most appropriate to add to her current medication?
o Clenil modulate 100 micrograms one puff twice daily
o Clenil modulate 200 micrograms one puff twice daily
o Flixotide evohlaer 250 micrograms one puff twice daily
o Pulmicort turbohaler 400 micrograms one puff twice daily
o Symbicort turbohaler 200 micrograms one puff twice daily
This child has asthma symptoms that are not well controlled (daily salbutamol use and cold-induced breathlessness). According to the British Thoracic Society (BTS) & NICE Asthma Guidelines, the next step in asthma management for children aged 5–12 years who are not well controlled on a short-acting beta-agonist (SABA) alone is the addition of a low-dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS).
Clenil Modulite 100 mcg BD is a low-dose ICS, making it an appropriate first-line controller therapy for a child with worsening asthma symptoms.
You are working on the oncology ward and a patient requires vincristine.
What route of administration should only be used when administering vincristine parenterally?
o Intravitreal
o Intrathecal
o Intravenous
o Subcutaneously
o Intramuscular
IV
A 42-year-old patient has presented to their GP with a history of anxiety, weight loss, hyperactivity, and
difficulty sleeping. After routine blood tests, they have been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and require
appropriate treatment.
Which of the following thyroid function test patterns is most likely to describe the patient?
o High TSH and normal T4
o High TSH and low T4
o Low TSH and high T4
o Low TSH and low T4
o Low TSH and normal T4
Low TSH and high T4
A 16-year-old girl brings in a prescription for doxycycline to the pharmacy to treat her acute sinusitis. Her PMR
shows that this is her first time. You counsel the patient.
Which of the following is the most likely to be mentioned upon handout?
o Take on an empty stomach
o Do not take indigestion remedies, or medicines containing iron or zinc, 4 hours before or after you take
this medicine
o Protect your skin from sunlight – even on a bright but cloudy day. Do not use sunbeds.
o Take with a full glass of orange juice
o Stop taking the medication as soon as you feel better
Protect the skin
A 35-year-old man has recently commenced opioid therapy for non-malignant pain relief. They are worried
about the potential for addiction as they have recently read a newspaper article about this.
Which of the following options would be the most appropriate advice to give?
o Even at therapeutic doses long term opioid therapy may lead to addiction and this should be discussed
with the patient’s prescriber.
o It is not possible for opioid medication to cause addiction when used for pain relief.
o Opioid therapy almost always results in addiction, the patient should find another option for pain
relief.
o The medication should be immediately discontinued, and only restarted after the patient has a chance
to discuss the potential of addiction with the prescriber.
o The risk of addiction from opioid therapy is only prevalent where there is a history of medication
abuse.
A
A 45-year-old woman has been prescribed an antidepressant. She is concerned about weight gain.
Which of the following is most likely to cause weight gain?
o Amitriptyline
o Escitalopram
o Lofepramine
o Mirtazipine
o Venlafaxine
Mirtazapine is known to cause significant weight gain and increased appetite, likely due to its antihistaminergic (H1) and serotonergic (5-HT2C) effects.
It is commonly associated with increased cravings for carbohydrates and sedation, which can contribute to weight gain
Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency.
Which of the following is least likely to be a common symptom of sepsis?
o Confusion
o Fever
o High blood pressure
o High heart rate
o Shortness of breath
Light-headedness due to low blood pressure is often experienced in patients with sepsis
A 34-year-old woman comes in comes in the pharmacy complaining of recently experiencing nightmares and
sleep disturbances.
Which of the following beta blockers is she least likely to have been prescribed?
o Atenolol
o Propranolol
o Bisoprolol
o Metoprolol
o Nebivolol
Beta-blockers can cause nightmares and sleep disturbances due to their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and interfere with sleep architecture. However, atenolol is the least likely to cause these effects because:
Atenolol is hydrophilic (water-soluble) and does not readily cross the BBB, reducing its impact on the central nervous system (CNS
A 21-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes visits your pharmacy for some advice. She is driving to see some
relatives tomorrow but is worried about her glucose levels on the long 6-hour drive.
Which is the most appropriate advice for this patient?
o Adjust her insulin dose before setting off on the journey
o Ensure her blood glucose concentration is below 8 mmol/L before driving
o Ensure she has a supply of long-acting carbohydrate in the vehicle
o Ensure she maintains her glucose levels at 5 mmol or more during the journey
o Ensure she tests her glucose less than 3 hours before driving
Ensure she maintains her glucose levels at 5mmol or more during the journey
Flu season is approaching, and your pharmacy want to design a campaign to encourage the uptake of flu
vaccines in the community.
Which of the following patients is least likely to be eligible for an NHS flu vaccine?
o A 28-year-old man who works in children’s social care
o A 45-year-old woman who has newly been diagnosed with diabetes
o A lady who is 15 weeks pregnant
o A lady with a BMI of 22.5
o A person who is 66-year-old with two children at university
A lady with a BMI of 22.5
A 4-year-old child has recently been prescribed montelukast 5 mg tablets one at night, for the prophylaxis of
his asthma. He is unable to use inhalers. On collection of his prescription his father informs you that his son’s
sleep patterns have been disrupted and he has started to stutter.
What is the most appropriate advice to give to the father?
o Advise the father to speak to GP or Asthma nurse for further advice as soon as possible
o Advise the father to discontinue treatment and to speak with the GP to switch to flixotide evohaler
o Advise the father that these are just side effects of the tablets and to continue as normal
o Advise the father to continue treatment but speak to GP or Asthma nurse about reducing the dose of
Montelukast tablets
o Advise the father to discontinue treatment and speak to GP about having a short acting beta agonist
instead
Advise the father to speak to the GP or Asthma nurse for further advice as soon as possible.
Explanation:
Montelukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, is used to help prevent asthma symptoms, but it can be associated with side effects, particularly in children. These side effects include sleep disturbances, mood changes, and in some cases, behavioral changes such as stuttering. The most serious side effects could be neuropsychiatric effects such as aggression, agitation, or other behavioral changes, which require medical attention.
Given the concerns about the child’s sleep disruption and the new onset of stuttering, the most appropriate step is to consult the GP or asthma nurse. They can assess whether montelukast is the cause of these symptoms and consider alternative treatments or adjustments.
A 3-year-old child weighing 14 kg has come into your pharmacy with their mother with a prescription for
nitrofurantoin 25 mL/ 5 mL suspension at a dose of 10.5 mg four times a day for 7 days for an acute urinary
tract infection.
Three days later the mother returns with her child concerned that her child is passing urine of yellow-brown
colour.
What is the most appropriate advice to give to the mother of the child?
* The child can continue to take nitrofurantoin, but the GP must be notified of the discoloured urine within
24 hours.
o The urine can sometimes turn yellow brown in colour with nitrofurantoin and this is a harmless side effect.
It is therefore safe for the child to continue taking nitrofurantoin.
* The child can stop taking the nitrofurantoin as long as the symptoms have resolved
* The child needs to drink more water
▪ The child needs to stop taking the abx and attend A+E
The urine can sometimes turn yellow brown in colour, this is a harmless effect
A 5-year-old girl is brought to your attention in the pharmacy by her mother who explains she is feeling “really
itchy all over”. You see a rash on the child’s arm and neck and her speech is impaired suggesting her tongue
has started to swell. Her mother explained that the symptoms have just started after lunch which she had 10
minutes ago.
What is the most appropriate advice for the mother of the child?
o Call 999 immediately
o Explain this is self-limiting and will improve over the next hour
o Refer to GP within the next three days
o Refer to local walk-in centre within the next 24 hours
o Sell chlorphenamine solution (Piriton) and advise the monitor their child over the next few days
call 999
A man returns his 62-year-old wife’s unused Oxynorm liquid to your pharmacy.
Which of the following is the most appropriate course of action?
o Enter the returned volume into the CD register in the quantity obtained section and store in a segregated
area in the CD cabinet.
o Explain to the patient that they must return the unused supply to their GP.
o Retain the bottle in the yellow DOOP bin, in preparation for denaturing and disposal.
o Store in a segregated area of the CD cabinet before rendering irretrievable.
o The liquid must be denatured and witnessed by an authorised person.
Store in a segregated area of the CD cabinet before rendering it irretrievable
While checking an ‘owing’, you identify that the medicine was supplied the previous day with an incorrect
dose.
Which of the following actions needs to take place first?
o Identify improvements in the pharmacy processes to prevent this error from reoccurring.
o Inform the patient of the error
o Inform the pharmacy team of the error
o Investigate as to why the error was made
o Report the error
Inform patient of error
A 47-year-old female is currently taking an oral-only regimen for pain management. On an average day she
will have four additional doses for breakthrough pain. She is recently finding it more difficult to swallow the
tablets and her consultant would like her to switch to an equivalent dose of fentanyl via a 72-hour patch.
Current Oral Regimen
* MST 30 mg tablets – Take ONE twice a day
* MST 15 mg tablets – Take ONE twice a day
* Oramorph 10 mg/5 ml solution – Take 5 ml for breakthrough pain when required
Which patch would be most appropriate?
o Fentanyl 12 patch
o Fentanyl 25 patch
o Fentanyl 50 patch
o Fentanyl 75 patch
o Fentanyl 100 patch
Fentanyl 50
A 75-year-old man has been prescribed glyceryl trinitrate 2 % ointment for the prophylaxis of angina
How much glyceryl trinitrate is required to produce 60 g of the ointment?
o 120 mg
o 200 mg
o 1200 mg
o 2 g
o 12 g
2g in 100g -> 2000mg in 100g
1200mg in 60g
A 66-year-old man has been discharged with a diuretic.
Which of the following thiazide or thiazide related diuretics are appropriate for a patient with an eGFR 27
mL/minute/1.73m2?
o Bendroflumethiazide
o Chlortalidone
o Cyclopenthiazide
o Indapimide
o Metolazone
Metaolazone