NBME Answers : fcambridge's page

Subcomments ...

submitted by natuwalrien(0), visit this page

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

meningiomas count as enhancing lesions? (this comment needs to be more than 50 characters apparently.)

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

goldenwakosu I think it’s because meningiomas are able to calcify (aka sometimes they have psamomma bodies). I got this question wrong too but I totally did not completely register that the tumor was in the dura (interhemispheric fissure + central sulcus). Hope that helps! +2

pipter the only reason I got this right was because they described the tumour as being near the falx cerebri. +2

fcambridge Other hints include being described as round and seen in a female. Both indicative of Meningioma +17

niboonsh also meningiomas typically present with seizures or focal neurological signs +

suckitnbme I thought enhancing meant it uptakes contrast. Meningiomas are commonly enhancing lesions per Radiopaedia. +

submitted by oznefu(22), visit this page

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

I’m having trouble understanding why this is a better choice than Paget disease, especially with the increased ALP?

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

zelderonmorningstar Paget’s would also show some sclerosis. +5

seagull ALK is increased in bone breakdown too. Prostate loves spreading to the lumbar Spine. It's like crack-cocaine for cancer. +32

aesalmon I think the "Worse at night" lends itself more towards mets, and the pt demographics lean towards prostate cancer, which loves to go to the lumbar spine via the Batson plexus. I picked Paget but i think they would have given something more telling if they wanted pagets, histology or another clue +2

fcambridge @seagull and aesalmon, I think you're a bit off here. Prostate mets would be osteoblastic, not osteolytic as is described in the vignette. +17

sup Yeah I chose Paget's too bcz I figured if it wasn't prostate cancer (which as @fcambridge said would present w/ osteoblastic lesions) they would give us another presenting sx of the metastatic cancer (lung, renal, skin) that might point us in that direction. I got distracted by the increased ALP too and fell for Paget :( +1

kernicterusthefrog @fcambridge, not exactly. Yes, prostate mets tends to be osteoblastic, but about 30% are found to be lytic, per this study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2768452/ Additionally, the night bone pains point to mets, and Paget's is much more commonly found in the cranial bones and appendicular skeleton, than axial. This could also be RCC mets! +

sweetmed I mainly ruled out pagets because they said the physical examination was normal. He would def have other symptoms. +4

cathartic_medstu From what I remember from Pathoma: Metastasis to bone is usually osteolytic with exception to prostate, which is osteoblastic. Therefore, stem says NUMEROUS lytic lesions and sounds more like metastasis. +5

medguru2295 If this is Metastatic cancer, it is likely MM. MM spreads to the spinal cord and causes Lytic lesions. It is NOT prostate as stated above. While Adenocarcinoma does spread to the Prostate, it produces only BLASTIC lesions. +

submitted by keycompany(351), visit this page

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

wouldn’t chronic hypertension of the L-renal artery induce RAAS activation, and hence tubular hypertrophy with cortical atrophy?

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

fcambridge I had a similar thought regarding mesangial hypercellularity. I missed a UW question on a similar topic. Unilateral renal artery stenosis results in hyperplasia of modified smooth muscle cells (JG cells) due to reduced RBF. The hyperplasia is intended to correct the supposed deficiency via increased production of renin. +

paperbackwriter Atrophy of the affected kidney (receiving less blood) and hypertrophy of the opposite kidney. +3

submitted by seagull(1933), visit this page

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

Which of the following reasons is why this question is bull?

1) Using the word "cyclic" instead of tricyclic for clarity

2) Knowing all of epidemiology of all drugs

3) having to reason out that anticholinergic effects are probably the worst over alpha1 or H1 effects to no certainty.

4) The crippling depression of studying for days-to-weeks on end to probably do average on the test.

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

nlkrueger yo, re-fucking-tweet +26

aesalmon I agree, I picked H1 because such a common complaint for those on TCAs is Sedation, I figure it might be so commonly seen as to be the "most common" reason for noncompliance. I suppose the "hot as a hare...etc" effects would be more severe/annoying, but I didn't think they were more common. +4

fcambridge I just like to pretend that there's a reason this question is now in an NBME and no longer being used for the test. Hopefully they realized the idiocy of this question like we all do +1

link981 Since it said cyclic, I thought of using, discontinuing, then using again. These people who write these questions need take some English writing courses so they can write with CLARITY. Cyclic is not the same as Tricyclic. +6

waterloo Incredibly awful question. one thought I did have when deciding between anticholinergic and antihistaminic - nortriptyline and desipramine are secondary amines that have less anti-cholinergic effects (from Sketchy Pharm) so maybe that's what they were getting at? That someone went out and made a new TCA drug that would have less anticholinergic effects. +

victor_abdullatif This isn't testing drug epidemiology; it's actually asking "which of these side effects are caused by TCAs and would be the worst to experience?" +

tekkenman101 "worst to experience" is incredibly subjective lmao. +1

submitted by armymed88(49), visit this page

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

Hypopigmented lesions refer to Ash-leaf spots, CNS lesions likely hamartomas . TS also associated with seizures.

get full access to all content ⋅ become a member

fcambridge How is Tuberous Sclerosis the most likely given that it is an AD disorder and there is no family history of "seizure disorder or major medical illnesses"? +18

d_holles @fcambridge variable expressivity of TSC allows for many different phenotypes. +1