Autonomic/CV Drugs — MCQs

A 23-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department by her friend because of strange behavior. Two hours ago, she was at a night club where she got involved in a fight with the bartender. Her friend says that she was smoking a cigarette before she became irritable and combative. She repeatedly asked “Why are you pouring blood in my drink?” before hitting the bartender. She has no history of psychiatric illness. Her temperature is 38°C (100.4°F), pulse is 100/min, respirations are 19/min, and blood pressure is 158/95 mm Hg. Examination shows muscle rigidity. She has a reduced degree of facial expression. She has no recollection of her confrontation with the bartender. Which of the following is the most likely primary mechanism responsible for this patient's symptoms?

A 16-year-old girl is brought to the physician because of generalized fatigue and an inability to concentrate in school for the past 4 months. During this period, she has had excessive daytime sleepiness. While going to sleep, she sees cartoon characters playing in her room. She wakes up once or twice every night. While awakening, she feels stiff and cannot move for a couple of minutes. She goes to sleep by 9 pm every night and wakes up at 7 am. She takes two to three 15-minute naps during the day and wakes up feeling refreshed. During the past week while listening to a friend tell a joke, she had an episode in which her head tilted and jaw dropped for a few seconds; it resolved spontaneously. Her father has schizoaffective disorder and her parents are divorced. Vital signs are within normal limits. Physical examination is unremarkable. Which of the following is the most appropriate initial pharmacotherapy?

A 24-year-old man is brought to the emergency department because of violent jerky movements of his arms and legs that began 30 minutes ago. His father reports that the patient has a history of epilepsy. He is not responsive. Physical examination shows alternating tonic jerks and clonic episodes. There is blood in the mouth. Administration of intravenous lorazepam is begun. In addition, treatment with a second drug is started that alters the flow of sodium ions across neuronal membranes. The second agent administered was most likely which of the following drugs?

A 44-year-old male is brought to the emergency department by fire and rescue after he was the unrestrained driver in a motor vehicle accident. His wife notes that the patient’s only past medical history is recent development of severe episodes of headache accompanied by sweating and palpitations. She says that these episodes were diagnosed as atypical panic attacks by the patient’s primary care provider, and the patient was started on sertraline and alprazolam. In the trauma bay, the patient’s temperature is 97.6°F (36.4°C), blood pressure is 81/56 mmHg, pulse is 127/min, and respirations are 14/min. He has a Glascow Coma Score (GCS) of 10. He is extremely tender to palpation in the abdomen with rebound and guarding. His skin is cool and clammy, and he has thready peripheral pulses. The patient's Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) exam reveals bleeding in the perisplenic space, and he is taken for emergency laparotomy. He is found to have a ruptured spleen, and his spleen is removed. During manipulation of the bowel, the patient’s temperature is 97.8°F (36.6°C), blood pressure is 246/124 mmHg, and pulse is 104/min. The patient is administered intravenous labetalol, but his blood pressure continues to worsen. The patient dies during the surgery. Which of the following medications would most likely have prevented this outcome?

A 72-year-old Caucasian female presents to the emergency department with complaints of a new-onset, right-sided throbbing headache which becomes markedly worse when eating. The daughter also reports that her mother has recently had difficulties with performing daily activities, such as climbing stairs or standing up. Past medical history is significant for a lower extremity deep vein thrombosis. The blood pressure is 124/78 mm Hg, the heart rate is 72/min, and the respiratory rate is 15/min. The physical examination is unremarkable except for the right visual field defect. Laboratory results are presented below: Hemoglobin 11.3 g/dL Hematocrit 37.7% Leukocyte count 6,200/mm3 Mean corpuscular volume 82.2 μm3 Platelet count 200,000/mm3 Erythrocyte sedimentation rate 75 mm/h C-reactive protein 50 mg/dL Which of the following medications would be most beneficial for this patient?

A 66-year-old woman presents to the emergency department with a throbbing headache. She states that the pain is worse when eating and is localized over the right side of her head. Review of systems is only notable for some blurry vision in the right eye which is slightly worse currently. The patient's past medical history is notable only for chronic pain in her muscles and joints for which she has been taking ibuprofen. Her temperature is 99.1°F (37.3°C), blood pressure is 144/89 mmHg, pulse is 87/min, respirations are 14/min, and oxygen saturation is 98% on room air. Physical examination is significant for tenderness to palpation over the right temporal region. Which of the following is the best initial step in management?

A 45-year-old man comes to the physician because of intermittent lower back pain for 1 week. His symptoms began shortly after lifting heavy boxes at work. He has not had any fever, chills, or weight loss. He has a history of peptic ulcer disease. He does not smoke or drink alcohol. His vital signs are within normal limits. Examination shows mild paraspinal lumbar tenderness. Neurologic examination shows no focal findings. An x-ray of the spine shows no abnormalities. Which of the following is the most appropriate initial pharmacotherapy?

A 26-year-old gravida 4 para 1 presents to the emergency department with sudden severe abdominal pain and mild vaginal bleeding. Her last menstrual period was 12 weeks ago. She describes her pain as similar to uterine contractions. She has a history of 2 spontaneous abortions in the first trimester. She is not complaining of dizziness or dyspnea. On physical examination, the temperature is 36.9°C (98.4°F), the blood pressure is 120/85 mm Hg, the pulse is 95/min, and the respiratory rate is 17/min. The pelvic examination reveals mild active bleeding and an open cervical os. There are no clots. Transvaginal ultrasound reveals a fetus with no cardiac activity. She is counseled about the findings and the options are discussed. She requests to attempt medical management with mifepristone before progressing to surgical intervention. Which of the following describes the main mechanism of action for mifepristone?

A 28-year-old man presents to the emergency department with vomiting. He states that he has experienced severe vomiting starting last night that has not been improving. He states that his symptoms improve with hot showers. The patient has presented to the emergency department with a similar complaint several times in the past as well as for intravenous drug abuse. His temperature is 99.5°F (37.5°C), blood pressure is 127/68 mmHg, pulse is 110/min, respirations are 22/min, and oxygen saturation is 98% on room air. Physical exam is deferred as the patient is actively vomiting. Which of the following is associated with the most likely diagnosis?

A 12-year-old female presents to your office complaining of several brief episodes of shortness of breath of varying severity. Which of the following substances would lead to a decrease in FEV1 of 20% if the patient has asthma?