Autonomic/CV Drugs — MCQs

A 23-year-old woman with asthma is brought to the emergency department because of shortness of breath and wheezing for 20 minutes. She is unable to speak more than a few words at a time. Her pulse is 116/min and respirations are 28/min. Pulse oximetry on room air shows an oxygen saturation of 92%. Examination of the lungs shows decreased breath sounds and scattered end-expiratory wheezing over all lung fields. Treatment with high-dose continuous inhaled albuterol is begun. This patient is at increased risk for which of the following adverse effects?

A 57-year-old man presents to the emergency department with shortness of breath. He was eating dinner with his family during the holidays and felt very short of breath, thus prompting him to come in. The patient has a past medical history of diabetes, hypertension, 2 myocardial infarctions, and obesity. Physical exam is notable for bilateral pulmonary crackles and a jugular venous distension. Chest radiography reveals an enlarged cardiac silhouette and blunting of the costophrenic angles. The patient is started on a medication for his acute symptoms. Two hours later, he states his symptoms have vastly improved and repeat chest radiography is notable for an enlarged cardiac silhouette. Which of the following is a property of the medication most likely given?

A 30-year-old woman presents to her physician for her annual checkup. She has diabetes mellitus, type 1 and takes insulin regularly. She reports no incidents of elevated or low blood sugar and that she is feeling energetic and ready to face the morning every day. Her vital signs and physical are normal. On the way home from her checkup she stops by the pharmacy and picks up her prescription of insulin. Later that night she takes a dose. What is the signaling mechanism associated with this medication?

A 54-year-old man comes to the physician for a follow-up examination. One week ago, he was treated in the emergency department for chest pain, palpitations, and dyspnea. As part of his regimen, he was started on a medication that irreversibly inhibits the synthesis of thromboxane A2 and prostaglandins. Which of the following is the most likely adverse effect of this medication?

An investigator is studying brachial artery reactivity in women with suspected coronary heart disease. The brachial artery diameter is measured via ultrasound before and after intra-arterial injection of acetylcholine. An increase of 7% in the vascular diameter is noted. The release of which of the following is most likely responsible for the observed effect?

A 38-year-old woman comes to the physician for a follow-up examination. She was diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenic purpura at the age of 37 years and has been treated with glucocorticoids and intravenous immune globulin. She has visited the emergency department 3 times in the past 4 months for nose bleeds, which required cauterization. Her platelet counts on her previous visits were 18,320/mm3, 17,500/mm3, and 19,100/mm3. Current medications include dexamethasone and a multivitamin. She has no children. Her immunizations are up-to-date. Vital signs are within normal limits. Examination shows petechiae on the bilateral lower extremities. Cardiopulmonary examination shows no abnormalities. The abdomen is soft and nontender; there is no organomegaly. Her hemoglobin concentration is 13.3 g/dL, leukocyte count is 8,100/mm3, and platelet count is 13,000/mm3. Her blood type is A negative. Serology for hepatitis C and HIV is negative. Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in management?

A 72-year-old male presents to his primary care physician complaining of increased urinary frequency and a weakened urinary stream. He has a history of gout, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia. He currently takes allopurinol, metformin, glyburide, and rosuvastatin. His temperature is 98.6°F (37°C), blood pressure is 130/85 mmHg, pulse is 90/min, and respirations are 18/min. Physical examination reveals an enlarged, non-tender prostate without nodules or masses. An ultrasound reveals a uniformly enlarged prostate that is 40mL in size. His physician starts him on a new medication. After taking the first dose, the patient experiences lightheadedness upon standing and has a syncopal event. Which of the following mechanisms of action is most consistent with the medication in question?

A 22-year-old man seeks help from a physician for his heroin addiction. He tells the doctor that he started using heroin at the age of 17 and gradually started increasing the dose. He has been trying to quit for the last 6 months after realizing the negative consequences of his addiction but has not succeeded because of the withdrawal symptoms. The physician suggests a drug that can be taken within a supervised rehabilitation program as a substitute for heroin to help alleviate withdrawal symptoms. The drug will then be tapered over time. He is further informed by the physician that this drug is not to be taken by the patient on his own and is not used for emergency reversal of opioid overdose. Which of the following drugs is most likely to have been recommended by the physician?

A 27-year-old man presents to the emergency department with nausea and vomiting. The patient started experiencing these symptoms shortly after arriving home from going out to eat at a seafood restaurant. His symptoms progressed and now he reports having an odd metallic taste in his mouth, diffuse pruritus, and blurry vision. His temperature is 99.0°F (37.2°C), blood pressure is 120/72 mmHg, pulse is 50/min, respirations are 17/min, and oxygen saturation is 99% on room air. Physical exam reveals bradycardia and an inability of the patient to differentiate hot versus cold; no rash can be appreciated on exam. Which of the following is the most likely etiology of this patient’s symptoms?

A 67-year-old man with stable coronary artery disease comes to the physician for a follow-up examination. Aside from occasional exertional chest pain on mowing the lawn or prolonged jogging, he feels well. He goes jogging for 20 minutes once a week and takes a tablet of sublingual nitroglycerine prior to his run to prevent anginal chest pain. The patient would like to run longer distances and asks the physician whether he could increase the dose of the drug prior to running. Administration of higher dosages of this drug is most likely to result in which of the following?