General Internal Medicine Flashcards
What is the most appropriate next step in the management of a patient with a 15% pretest probability of PE and a negative D-dimer test?
Consider an alternative diagnosis.
D-Dimer is a highly sensitive diagnostic test for PE. If it is negative in a patient with a low pretest probability consider another diagnosis.
What does a negative result from a highly sensitive test tell you about the presence of disease?
“SnOUT”
A highly sensitive test with detect virtually all cases of disease if present, if the test result is negative, the disease is likely not present.
Treatment:
Hyperlipidemia in a low-risk patient
- Dietary, weight loss and exercise recommendations
- Follow up fasting lipid profile (USPSTF suggest 5 years, but ACC/AHA recommend repeat testing based on individual patient’s risk factor profile)
What lab values indicate hyperlipidemia for the following labs:
Total cholesterol
LDL
HDL
Fasting TG
total cholesterol >200 mg/dL
LDL>130 mg/dL
HDL<40 mg/dL in men; HDL <50 mg/dL in women
fasting TG>/= 150 mg/dL
According to the ACC/AHA, what are the four high-risk groups that should receive treatment for hyperlipidemia?
- Patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD)
- Patients with diabetes
- Patients with LDL cholesterol >190 mg/dL
- Patients with ASCVD risk >7.5% using the Pooled Cohort Equations calculator
When are triglycerides considered as separate target for hyperlipidemia therapy?
TGs are only considered separate targets when their values are very high (i.e. >500 mg/dL).
Fibrates are most effective at lowering triglycerides
Management:
Hyperlipidemia refractory to medical therapy
Consider secondary causes:
- Hypothyroidism
- Diabetes mellitus
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Obstructive liver disease
Treatment:
Obesity
- Recommend exercise and low-calorie diet
2. Orlistat
Pharmacology:
Orlistat
MA?
F?
Secondary benefits?
Side effects?
MA: lipase inhibitor
F: leads to fat malabsorption and weight loss
Secondary benefits: reduced LDL, reduced blood pressure, improved glycemic control
Side effects: flatus, abdominal cramps, fecal incontinence, oily spottage, rare liver injury, vitamin deficiencies (A, D and E).
What are the indications for bariatric surgery (i.e. gastric bypass surgery, laparascopic banding) to treat obesity?
Class III obesity in a patient unable to maintain weight loss with diet and exercise with or without drug therapy.
Class III obesity=
- BMI >/= 40
- BMI 35-39.9 with obesity-related comorbid conditions (i.e. HTN, impaired glucose tolerance, DM, hyperlipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea)
What is Class III Obesity?
- BMI >/= 40
- BMI 35-39.9 (Class II obesity) with obesity-related comorbid conditions (i.e. HTN, impaired glucose tolerance, DM, hyperlipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea, severe joint disease)
Treatment:
Depression + Obesity
Bupropion
What is the most successful and safest long-term weight loss strategy in obese and overweight patients?
Reduction in daily dietary caloric intake
How long can a patient remain on phentermine as adjunctive treatment for obesity?
12 weeks
Diagnosis:
- Macrocytic anemia (MCV >100)
- Thrombocytopenia (platelets <150K)
- Mild neutropenia
- Inappropriately low reticulocyte count
…in a patient with a past surgical history of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
Vitamin B12 deficiency
What is the diagnostic test of choice to diagnose a vertebral compression fracture?
Plain radiography
i.e. lumbar spine radiography
What is the initial imaging study of choice for suspected ankylosing spondylitis?
Anterior-posterior plain radiography of the pelvis providing a view of the sacroiliac joints and hips
Treatment:
Acute low back pain
- Analgesics–> mitigate symptoms
2. Mobilization as tolerated –> maintain function
When is lumbar spine MRI useful in evaluating acute lumbosacral back pain?
- Rapidly progressing neurologic symptoms
- Evidence of cord compression
- Evidence of cauda equina syndrome
- Suspicion for malignancy
- Suspicion for infection
When should you suspect pertussis in an adult patient complaining of cough?
- Cough >/= 2 weeks
- Associated with:
A. Paroxysms of coughing
B. Inspiratory Whoop
C. Posttussive emesis
Treatment:
Pertussis
Macrolide antibiotic (i.e. azithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin)
Treatment:
Upper Airway Cough Syndrome
- Diphenhydramine (1st generation antihistamine)
- Pseudoephedrine (decongestant)
Treat for 2-3 weeks. IF this fails consider GERD and treat with PPI.
Treatment of GERD can be added to treatment of UACS, because chronic cough usually has multiple etiologies.
What is the most common cause of chronic cough?
Upper airway cough syndrome (UACS)
Diagnosis:
Symptoms:
- Cough
- Nasal discharge
- Sensation of postnatal drip
- Frequent throat clearing
Physical Examination:
- Cobblestoning of the posterior pharyngeal mucosa
- Mucoid or mucopurulent secretions at the nasopharynx or oropharynx
Upper airway cough syndrome (UACS)
Management:
Cough in a patient taking an ACE inhibitor
- Smoking cessation
- Discontinuation of ACE inhibitor
Wait 4 weeks before doing any additional evaluation for the cough.
Rarely, it takes 3 months for cough to abate after discontinuing ACEi
Ensure patient has a normal chest radiograph.
Differential Diagnosis:
Chronic cough (>8 weeks duration)
- Asthma
- COPD
- Upper airway cough syndrome (UACS)
- GERD
- Pneumonia
- ACEi induced cough
How long is the empiric PPI therapy for a patient with GERD?
8-12 weeks
Treatment:
Cough-variant asthma
Bronchodilator (albuterol)
It may take 6-8 weeks for symptomatic benefit to occur.
What diagnostic test is necessary to evaluate patients with hemoptysis?
Chest radiography
Even is chest radiography is normal, patients at high risk for lung cancer should be referred for chest CT and fiberoptic bronchoscopy.
List the risk factors for malignancy in a patient with hemoptysis.
- Male sex
- Age older than 40
- Smoking history of more than 40 pack years
- Symptoms lasting >1 week
These patients should be referred for chest CT and fiberoptic bronchoscopy.
Treatment:
Mild influenza in a healthy person
Symptomatic treatment
When is treatment of influenza with either oseltamivir or zanamivir indicated?
- Hospitalized patients with the flu
- Patients with severe, complicated or progressive illness
- High risk for influenza complications (cardiovascular disease, active cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver disease, hemoglobinopathies, immunocompromised, neurologic diseases that impair handing or respiratory secretions)
What is the preferred time window to treat influenza with oseltamivir or zanamivir?
Within the first 2 days of symptoms
F: (1) to reduce duration of illness and (2) decrease the risk of serious complications
Treatment:
Tobacco addiction in a patient with psychiatric disease
Nicotine replacement therapy
What are the contraindications for bupropion therapy for smoking cessation?
Contraindicated in patients with:
- Seizure disorders
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors
- Eating disorders
- Serious psychiatric disease (may cause personality changes, vivid dreams, suicidal ideation)
What are the contraindications for varenicline therapy for smoking cessation?
Contraindicated in patients with:
- Kidney impairment
- Dialysis
- Cardiovascular disorders
- Serious psychiatric disease (may cause personality changes, vivid dreams, suicidal ideation)