Physician Assistant Neurological System Disorders Flashcards
6 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 6 Physician Assistant Neurological System Disorders flashcards as text
A 70-year-old presents with progressive resting tremor, bradykinesia, and cogwheel rigidity. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Answer: Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease presents with the classic triad of resting tremor, bradykinesia, and rigidity, typically beginning unilaterally in older adults.
Which neurotransmitter is deficient in Parkinson's disease?
Answer: Dopamine
Parkinson's disease results from degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, leading to dopamine deficiency in the nigrostriatal pathway.
A patient presents with sudden severe headache, nuchal rigidity, photophobia, and fever. CSF analysis shows cloudy fluid, elevated protein, low glucose, and neutrophilic pleocytosis. What is the most appropriate immediate treatment?
Answer: IV ceftriaxone and dexamethasone empirically
Bacterial meningitis is a medical emergency; empiric IV ceftriaxone and dexamethasone (to reduce inflammation) should be started immediately without waiting for culture results.
Which type of seizure is characterized by sudden loss of muscle tone causing the patient to fall?
Answer: Atonic seizure
Atonic (drop) seizures involve sudden loss of postural muscle tone, causing the patient to fall abruptly without warning.
A 30-year-old with epilepsy presents in status epilepticus. After two doses of lorazepam, seizures persist. What is the next pharmacological treatment?
Answer: IV levetiracetam or fosphenytoin
After benzodiazepine failure in status epilepticus, the next step is IV second-line agents such as levetiracetam, fosphenytoin, or valproate per established treatment algorithms.
A 50-year-old presents with symmetric ascending weakness and areflexia following a GI infection 3 weeks prior. CSF shows albuminocytologic dissociation. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Answer: Guillain-Barré syndrome
Guillain-Barré syndrome presents with ascending flaccid paralysis, areflexia, and CSF albuminocytologic dissociation (elevated protein with normal cell count), often following infection.