Medical Technologist Test Analyzing Medical Technologist 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which hematology parameter is MOST useful to distinguish iron deficiency anemia from anemia of chronic disease?
- MCV
- Serum ferritin (Correct answer)
- RBC count
- Reticulocyte count
Correct answer: Serum ferritin
Serum ferritin is low in iron deficiency but normal or elevated in anemia of chronic disease, making it the most discriminating test.
Question 2: A urine culture grows >100,000 CFU/mL of a single organism with a positive oxidase test and fruity odor. Which organism is MOST likely?
- Escherichia coli
- Klebsiella pneumoniae
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Correct answer)
- Proteus mirabilis
Correct answer: Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is oxidase-positive and produces pyocyanin, giving cultures a fruity (grape-like) odor.
Question 3: In the ABO blood group system, which antibody class is responsible for immediate hemolytic transfusion reactions?
- IgG
- IgA
- IgM (Correct answer)
- IgE
Correct answer: IgM
IgM anti-A and anti-B are naturally occurring, complement-fixing antibodies that cause severe intravascular hemolysis in ABO incompatibility.
Question 4: A chemistry analyzer flags a lipemic specimen. Which test result is MOST likely to be artifactually lowered?
- Triglycerides
- Cholesterol
- Sodium (Correct answer)
- Calcium
Correct answer: Sodium
Lipemia causes volume displacement, artifactually lowering the measured concentration of electrolytes like sodium (pseudohyponatremia).
Question 5: Which fungal organism produces germ tubes when incubated in serum at 37°C for 2–3 hours?
- Aspergillus fumigatus
- Candida albicans (Correct answer)
- Cryptococcus neoformans
- Histoplasma capsulatum
Correct answer: Candida albicans
Candida albicans produces germ tubes (Reynolds-Braude phenomenon) in serum at 37°C, which is a rapid presumptive identification test.
Question 6: Which coagulation factor deficiency results in a prolonged PTT but normal PT and thrombin time, with NO bleeding tendency?
- Factor VIII
- Factor XI
- Factor XII (Correct answer)
- Factor V
Correct answer: Factor XII
Factor XII (Hageman factor) deficiency prolongs PTT but causes no clinical bleeding because it is not essential for in vivo hemostasis.
Question 7: A body fluid differential shows 95% lymphocytes with no mesothelial cells. This pattern is MOST consistent with:
- Bacterial empyema
- Tuberculous pleural effusion (Correct answer)
- Congestive heart failure
- Pancreatitis
Correct answer: Tuberculous pleural effusion
Tuberculous pleural effusions characteristically show lymphocyte predominance with sparse or absent mesothelial cells.
Medical Technologist Test Analyzing Medical Technologist 4
Which hematology parameter is MOST useful to distinguish iron deficiency anemia from anemia of chronic disease?