A 40-year-old runner complains of gradually worsening pain on the lateral aspect of his foot. He runs on asphalt, and has increased his mileage from 2 miles/day to 5 miles/day over the last 2 weeks. Palpation causes pain over the lateral 5th metatarsal. The pain is also reproduced when he jumps on the affected leg. When you ask about his shoes he tells you he bought them several years ago.
Which one of the following is the most likely diagnosis?
Correct Answer B: Running injuries are primarily caused by overuse due to training errors. Runners should be instructed to increase their mileage gradually. A stress fracture causes localized tenderness and swelling in superficial bones, and the pain can be reproduced by having the patient jump on the affected leg. Plantar fasciitis causes burning pain in the heel and there is tenderness of the plantar fascia where it inserts onto the medial tubercle of the calcaneus.
Which one of the following is contraindicated with circumcisions?
Correct Answer C: The only option listed that is contraindicated for circumcision is lidocaine with epinephrine. Epinephrine should NEVER be used in a local anesthetic for penile block because the penile artery is an end artery, and vasospasm can lead to necrosis of the penile tip.
A 27 year old white male has been in rehabilitation for C6 complete quadriplegia. His health had been good prior to a diving accident 2 months ago which caused his paralysis. The patient has been catheterized since admission and his recovery has been steady. His vital signs have been normal and stable.
The nurse calls and tells you that for the past hour the patient has experienced sweating, rhinorrhea, and a pounding headache. His heart rate is 55/min and his blood pressure is 220/115 mm Hg. His temperature and respirations are reported as normal. There has been no vomiting and his neurologic examination is unchanged.
The most likely diagnosis is:
Correct Answer B: Autonomic hyperreflexia is characterized by the sudden onset of headache and hypertension in a patient with a lesion above the T6 level. There may be associated bradycardia, sweating, dilated pupils, blurred vision, nasal stuffiness, flushing, or piloerection. It usually occurs several months after the injury and has an incidence as high as 85% in quadriplegic patients. Frequently, it subsides within 3 years of injury, but it can recur at any time. Bowel and bladder distension are common causes. Hypertension is the major concern because of associated seizures and cerebral hemorrhage.
Cluster headaches have a constant unilateral orbital localization. The pain is steady (non-throbbing) and lacrimation and rhinorrhea may be part of the syndrome. Sepsis is usually manifested by chills, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Common signs include tachycardia and hypotension rather than bradycardia and hypertension. Signs and symptoms of intracranial hemorrhage vary depending upon the site of the hemorrhage, but the unchanged neurologic status and the lack of a history of hypertension decrease the likelihood of this diagnosis. There are no neurologic findings or history which suggest progression of the patient’s lesion at C6.
Prior to performing a peripheral nerve block of the median nerve at the level of the wrist, you determine that the anesthetic effect should last for at least 2 hours.
The best agent for this purpose is:
Correct Answer C: Bupivacaine has an expected duration of action of 2-4 hours. Procaine, lidocaine, and chloroprocaine have durations of action ranging from 15 minutes to 1 hour.
A 38 year old white female presents to your office with a 4-cm palpable nodule in her right breast. Fine-needle aspiration yields 4 cc of bloody fluid. Following the aspiration, the breast nodule is no longer palpable.
Which one of the following would be most appropriate at this point?
Correct Answer B: When straw-colored or gray-green fluid is obtained by fine-needle aspiration of a breast nodule and the lesion completely disappears, the diagnosis is simple cyst. The fluid should not be sent for analysis because the risk for cancer is exceedingly small. If the fluid is bloody or otherwise unusual, it should be sent for cytologic examination because about 7% of bloodstained aspirates are associated with cancer.
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