Medical Technologist Test Analyzing Medical Technologist 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which coagulation test is most affected by a short draw in a citrate tube?
- PT
- PTT (Correct answer)
- Fibrinogen
- D-dimer
Correct answer: PTT
PTT is most sensitive to the citrate-to-blood ratio, so a short draw falsely prolongs the result.
Question 2: A patient's serum potassium is 6.8 mEq/L but the patient shows no clinical symptoms. What is the first action?
- Report and flag critical value immediately
- Check specimen for hemolysis (Correct answer)
- Repeat test on a new sample
- Notify the charge nurse
Correct answer: Check specimen for hemolysis
Hemolysis releases intracellular potassium and is the most common cause of spuriously elevated potassium.
Question 3: On a peripheral blood smear, which finding is MOST consistent with megaloblastic anemia?
- Microcytes and target cells
- Hypersegmented neutrophils (Correct answer)
- Spherocytes
- Schistocytes
Correct answer: Hypersegmented neutrophils
Hypersegmented neutrophils (≥5 lobes) are a hallmark of megaloblastic anemia due to B12 or folate deficiency.
Question 4: A Gram stain shows gram-positive cocci in clusters. Which organism is MOST likely?
- Streptococcus pyogenes
- Enterococcus faecalis
- Staphylococcus aureus (Correct answer)
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Correct answer: Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus species characteristically appear as gram-positive cocci in clusters on Gram stain.
Question 5: Which urinalysis finding indicates a urinary tract infection caused by Proteus mirabilis?
- Acidic pH with hematuria
- Alkaline pH with ammonia odor (Correct answer)
- Neutral pH with glycosuria
- Acidic pH with ketonuria
Correct answer: Alkaline pH with ammonia odor
Proteus mirabilis produces urease, which splits urea into ammonia, raising urine pH and producing an ammonia odor.
Question 6: Which blood bank compatibility test is designed to detect recipient antibodies against donor red cell antigens?
- Autologous control
- Minor crossmatch
- Major crossmatch (Correct answer)
- Antibody screen
Correct answer: Major crossmatch
The major crossmatch tests recipient serum against donor red cells to detect clinically significant alloantibodies.
Question 7: A reagent strip shows 3+ glucose but the refractometer specific gravity is 1.005. What is the BEST explanation?
- Dilute urine with true glucosuria (Correct answer)
- Contaminated specimen
- Reagent strip error
- Diabetes insipidus with glucosuria
Correct answer: Dilute urine with true glucosuria
Patients with uncontrolled diabetes can spill large amounts of glucose into very dilute urine, producing low specific gravity with high glucose.
Medical Technologist Test Analyzing Medical Technologist 2
Which coagulation test is most affected by a short draw in a citrate tube?