Psychiatry and Behavioral Science 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 Psychiatry and Behavioral Science flashcards as text
A patient stable on lithium is started on a new medication and develops coarse tremor, ataxia, and confusion two weeks later. Which medication most likely caused this?
Answer: Hydrochlorothiazide
Thiazide diuretics reduce renal lithium clearance, raising serum levels into the toxic range.
Before starting clozapine for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, which laboratory monitoring is mandatory?
Answer: Absolute neutrophil count
Clozapine can cause severe neutropenia/agranulocytosis, so baseline and serial ANC monitoring is required.
A patient on sertraline who recently added tramadol presents with agitation, diaphoresis, hyperreflexia, and inducible clonus. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Answer: Serotonin syndrome
Hyperreflexia and clonus with rapid onset after combining serotonergic agents is characteristic of serotonin syndrome.
A patient taking phenelzine eats aged cheese and cured meats and develops a severe occipital headache with BP 220/120. What is the mechanism?
Answer: Tyramine-induced norepinephrine release
MAO inhibition prevents dietary tyramine breakdown, causing massive norepinephrine release and hypertensive crisis.
Bupropion is contraindicated in which patient?
Answer: A 22-year-old with bulimia nervosa
Bupropion lowers the seizure threshold and carries higher seizure risk in patients with eating disorders.
A patient on long-term haloperidol develops involuntary lip-smacking and tongue movements. Which FDA-approved medication treats this condition?
Answer: Valbenazine
Valbenazine, a VMAT2 inhibitor, is FDA-approved for tardive dyskinesia.
Before starting carbamazepine in a patient of Han Chinese ancestry, which test is recommended?
Answer: HLA-B*1502 testing
HLA-B*1502 is strongly associated with carbamazepine-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome/TEN in patients of Asian ancestry.
How this page was made: written with AI tools and published by Nathan Beja, founder of Practice Test Geeks, who is responsible for its content. Exam facts are checked against the official sources listed below. Not reviewed by a subject-matter expert. Editorial policy
Sources & references
Exam facts on this page (fees, format, dates, passing scores) are checked against these official sources; the date is our last check. Editorial policy
- nccpa.net — Test dates, renewal, score validity, retake policy, score release, test delivery, eligibility, fees, registration, exam information · verified Nov 2026