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NBME 21 Answers

nbme21/Block 1/Question#27 (reveal difficulty score)
A 60-year-old man is brought to the emergency ...
Urethral disruption ๐Ÿ” / ๐Ÿ“บ / ๐ŸŒณ / ๐Ÿ“–
tags: renal repro

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submitted by โˆ—benzjonez(48)
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FA 2018 p. 609. Suspect urethral injury if blood is seen at the urethral meatus. Mechanism of posterior urethral injury = pelvic fracture, which we see in this patient. Urethral catheterization is relatively contraindicated.

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hyperfukus  thank you! +
baja_blast  Understood, but is there anything in the question that rules out BPH specifically? I honed in on the words "most likely" and saw he was 60. I guess I overthought it but I'd appreciate any insight as to what if anything in the Q makes that definitively wrong. +
daddyusmle  I think the question stem, with the trauma and fractures, points you in the direction of membranous urethral trauma. Pelvic fractures are more associated with urethra damage than prostate damage, although they're right next to each other, and I can see why someone would choose prostate hypertrophy. Also, I'm not sure if bleeding is associated with BPH. +
mumenrider4ever  FA 2020 pg. 627 +3
nio5021  could someone explain why urethral stricture is incorrect? +
nio5021  According to mayo clinic, strictures can be caused by trauma to pelvis as well. Would strictures be more likely if this patient had some sort of procedure done? https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/urethral-stricture/symptoms-causes/syc-20362330 +
eghafoor  @nio5021: "Trauma to the anterior urethra is often from straddle injuries. This can occur with a sharp blow to the perineum. This type of trauma can lead to scars in the urethra ("urethral stricture"). These scars can slow or block the flow of urine from the penis. Trauma to the posterior urethra almost always results from a severe injury. In males, posterior urethral trauma may tear the urethra completely away below the prostate" Source: https://www.urologyhealth.org/urologic-conditions/urethral-trauma#:~:text=Trauma%20to%20the%20anterior%20urethra,of%20urine%20from%20the%20penis. +
eghafoor  The key for this question was recognizing that the pelvis was fractured = unique only to posterior urethral injuries (FA 2020 p. 627), and after was to realize that you'd have an urethral disruption/tear +
skonys  FA19 613 +1



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