Gastrointestinal and Nutrition Flashcards
7 cards from real Physician Assistant practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Gastrointestinal and Nutrition flashcards as text
A 35-year-old woman with chronic diarrhea, bloating, and a positive anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) IgA antibody most likely has which condition?
Answer: Celiac disease
Elevated anti-tTG IgA is the most sensitive and specific serologic test for celiac disease.
A 70-year-old man presents with painless jaundice, clay-colored stools, and dark urine. CT shows a mass in the head of the pancreas. Which additional finding would most support malignancy?
Answer: Palpable, non-tender gallbladder (Courvoisier's sign)
Courvoisier's sign — a palpable, non-tender gallbladder in the setting of painless jaundice — suggests malignant biliary obstruction.
Which organism is most commonly responsible for traveler's diarrhea?
Answer: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)
ETEC is the leading cause of traveler's diarrhea, producing heat-labile and heat-stable enterotoxins that increase intestinal fluid secretion.
A patient with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension develops confusion, asterixis, and elevated serum ammonia. Which treatment is most appropriate?
Answer: Lactulose
Lactulose acidifies the colon, trapping ammonia as ammonium (NH4+) and promoting its excretion, reducing serum ammonia in hepatic encephalopathy.
Which type of hepatitis is most commonly transmitted via the fecal-oral route and does NOT cause chronic disease?
Answer: Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is transmitted fecal-orally (contaminated food/water) and never leads to chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis.
A child presents with failure to thrive, foul-smelling greasy stools, and recurrent respiratory infections. Sweat chloride testing confirms the diagnosis. Which nutritional supplement is most critical for this patient?
Answer: Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K)
Cystic fibrosis causes pancreatic exocrine insufficiency with fat malabsorption, making fat-soluble vitamin supplementation essential.
A patient presents with right lower quadrant pain, fever, and elevated WBC. CT shows a 9 cm appendix with periappendiceal fat stranding. Which is the most appropriate next step?
Answer: Urgent appendectomy
CT findings of an enlarged appendix with periappendiceal fat stranding indicate acute appendicitis requiring urgent surgical intervention.