Sunday, September 21, 2008

Statistics

Statistics is something that we learn and forget fairly quickly. In post-graduate exams, we are expected not only to know it, but also to be able to apply it and discuss it with our peers. From this year onwards, in Part 2 FRACGP, a new station called Peer Level Discussion (PLC) is introduced. This may be the reason why so many of us failed this year. At this station, a metaanalysis result is summarised with all the diagrams and figures for you to read and interpret within 3 minutes. After 3 minutes the bell will ring and you walk in to face the 'expert' peer!!!

What do you understand by Relative Risk (RR)?
Well, I know many of us are not so good in statistics, can each of us put in something that you understood from your reading or research. Give examples if possible. By doing so, you are helping each other to understand the topics better. Mind you, the person who teach wholeheartedly is the person that will gain the most. Questions on statistics are also asked in the Single Best Answer of Part 1. Hopefully, among us, there is someone who is an expert in statistics and who is keen to teach us.

What is Odds Ratio (OR)?

What is Hazard Ratio (HR)?

What is Likelihood Ratio?

What is Surrogate Endpoint?

What is Confidence Interval?

What is P value?

What is Type 1 error?

What is Type 2 error?

What is Positive Predictive Value?

What is Negative Predictive Value?

What is Numbers Needed to Treat (NNT)?

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Confusion/Pain Mx/Immune Response/Vaccine Efficacy

Please look up the answer for Q9/7 to Q9/11 under the comments of the respective post.

Q9/12
Greta is aged 69 and has advanced lung cancer. You are called urgently because she has become acutely confused. You note that she appears dehydrated. You order pathology tests and are not surprised to find:
a) Hypokalemia
b) Hyperkalemia
c) Hypocalcemia
d) Hypercalcemia

Q9/13
Marjory L has locally invasive carcinoma of the cervix, which has infiltrated her right femoral nerve. She is experiencing shooting, lancinating pain. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a) Opioids are contraindicated for this type of pain
b) Anticonvulsants are an appropriate option in this situation
c) A tricyclic antidepressant is the optimal treatment
d) Antiarrhythmics are the drug of choice for this condition

Q9/14
Which of the following statements are consistent with passive immunity? (Select one or more responses)
a) Pre-formed antibodies are injected, and these give immediate but short-term protection.
b) Normal human immunoglobulin (NHIG) is derived from the pooled plasma of blood donors. It contains antibodies to microbial agents which are prevalent in the general population.
c) The protection from passive immunity is transient as the half-life of antibodies is between 3 and 4 weeks.
d) Passive immunity, through specific immunoglobulins, is available to protect individuals against specific microbial agents such as cytomegalovirus (CMV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis B, rabies and varicella-zoster viruses, plus tetanus and diphtheria toxins.

Q9/15
Vaccine efficacy is a measure of the level of protection against a disease in people who have been vaccinated compared with the attack rate in people who have not been vaccinated. A vaccine efficacy of 100% indicates perfect protection, 0% indicates no protective effect. There are many controlled trials and field studies to show the efficacy of vaccines.
How effective are most vaccinations at preventing disease?
a) 100%. Everyone is protected from a disease by every immunisation.
b) At least 85 - 95% of people are protected from a disease by most immunisations.
c) Approximately 50% of people are protected from a disease by immunisation.
d) Approximately 15% of people are protected from a disease by immunisation, that is why we need so many injections.

Q9/16
If a vaccine requires a course of doses (e.g. adult hepatitis b), and a patient misses a vaccine dose, do you have to start the schedule again?
a) Yes, vaccines will only work if they are given strictly according to the dose schedule.
b) No, generally the immune response memory is preserved and the course can be continued from where it was interrupted.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Elderly/Backache/Retinopathy/Pain at calf/Ovarian Cancer

Q9/7
11 Hiep N is the 68-year-old grandmother of a patient of yours. She is proficient in English. Her daughters have noticed that she has become increasingly confused over the last six months. She can't remember the names of her friends, and more than once has forgotten that she has left the stove on. This has been a steady deterioration. You consider that the most likely cause is Alzheimer’s type dementia. However you need to exclude other causes of this clinical presentation. Which of the following is most likely to give this pattern of cognitive deterioration?
a) Urinary tract infection
b) Multi infarct dementia
c) Space occupying lesion
d) Hyperthyroidism

Q9/8
Olga, aged 74 presents to you complaining of a pain in the mid back which is worse when she tries to sleep. You consider that her pain is indicative of bony pathology. She has no other symptoms. Which part of your physical examination is MOST likely to reveal the underlying pathology?
a) Palpation of the breasts
b) Assessment of the thyroid
c) Digital rectal examination
d) Examination of the urine

Q9/9
Diabetic retinopathy is primarily characterised by:
a) Drusen formation
b) Vascular leakage
c) Retinal ischaemia
d) Detachment of retina from choroid

Q9/10
Jack M, aged 70, complains of pain in his right leg, particularly in his right calf, of recent onset. There are no localised findings on examination. He has been an active man, but a recent injury has severely limited his mobility. He is MOST likely to have:
a) Baker's Cyst
b) Torn gastrocnemius
c) L4 Sciatica
d) Deep venous thrombosis

Q9/11
Try this and see how close you get to the answer (to be posted later).

What are the common symptoms of ovarian cancer?

Answer to Q9/3, Q9/4, Q9/5, Q9/6

Q9/3
The correct answer is (b).
The national policy on cervical screening provides consensus guidelines on which women need screening and how often Pap smears should be taken. It states:
“Pap smears may cease at the age of 70 years for women who have had two normal Pap smears within the last five years.” Women over 70 years who have never had a Pap smear should have 2 consecutive pap smears performed. Women who request a Pap smear should be screened.If older women are finding pap smears uncomfortable, the use of topical oestrogen for 2 weeks prior to taking a pap smear can reduce the discomfort due to atrophy/dryness.

Q9/4
The correct answer is (c). A benign essential tremor is present constantly, but becomes more pronounced when the limb is maintained against gravity. It is lessened by rest and not markedly enhanced during voluntary movement towards a target. An intention tremor is typical of cerebellar disease and a rest tremor is more likely to be caused by Parkinson’s disease or be an exaggerated physiological tremor.

Answer to Q9/5
The correct answers are MMR, VZV and Oral Rotavirus Vaccine.
You should seek further advice if you are considering administering the following vaccines: MMR, VZV, Oral Rotavirus vaccine, as they are all live-attenuated vaccines.

Answer to Q9/6
The correct response is the influenza vaccine. Note that egg allergy is no longer a contraindication to vaccination with MMR, however closer observation post-vaccination may be warranted. For information on egg allergy and MMR vaccine, refer to the 2nd last dot point of Section 3.11: Measles: Precautions on page 207 of the Handbook.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Vaccines

Q9/5
Which vaccines should be deferred (and then further advice sought from an expert in immunisation) if a patient has an immunosuppressive illness? Select one or more than one.

Oral Rotavirus vaccine
Combination vaccines that include both Inactivated Polio vaccine (IPV) and DTPa
Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR)
Human Papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) (e.g. "Gardasil")
Varicella vaccine (VZV)
Influenza vaccine
Monovalent Hepatitis B vaccine
Polysaccharide Pneumococcal vaccine (23vPPV)
Conjugate Pneumococcal (7vPCV)

Q9/6
Which vaccinations may be contraindicated if the patient is allergic to egg protein?
Select one or more than one.

Oral Rotavirus vaccine
Combination vaccines that include both Inactivated Polio vaccine (IPV) and DTPa
Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR)
Human Papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) (e.g. "Gardasil")
Varicella Vaccine (VZV)
Influenza vaccine
Monovalent Hepatitis B vaccine
Polysaccharide Pneumococcal vaccine (23vPPV)
Conjugate Pneumococcal vaccine (7vPCV)

Thursday, September 11, 2008

PAP Smear / Tremor

Q9/3:
Meg, 66 is now a widow. She asks you when she can stop having pap smears as she finds them quite uncomfortable. When can older women cease having pap smears?
a) When they have had two normal smears after the age of 70
b) At age 70 if there have been two normal smears in the preceding 5 years
c) At menopause if they have no vaginal discharge or bleeding after this time
d) Once they are no longer sexually active if their last smear was normal

Q9/4:
Cyril J, aged 64, presents complaining that he can't hold a cup of tea steadily. You would suspect a benign essential tremor if the tremor is:
a) Increased with voluntary movement towards a target
b) Most significant at rest
c) Maximal when the limb is maintained against gravity
d) Repetitive and flapping in nature

Answer to Q9/1, Q9/2, Q on 4/9/08

Answer to Q9/1: D

Bleeding piles, bleeding diverticulae and carcinoma of the large bowel can all cause sufficient bleeding to result in an iron deficiency anaemia which would give a hypochromic microcytic pattern on microscopic examination of the blood.
Normocytic normochromic anaemia is more likely to be caused by chronic disease such as chronic renal failure. It could also result from marrow suppression due to drugs or myelofibrosis or combined Fe/B12 deficiency.

Answer to Q9/2: A


DVT and pulmonary embolism are associated with an underlying diagnosis of cancer, particularly cancer of visceral organs such as the pancreas. Recurrent DVT is associated even more strongly with metastatic disease. There is no strong association between the other conditions listed and recurrent DVT, although smoking in combination with the oral contraceptive pill is a risk factor for DVT.

Answer for the question posted on sept 4 (consent of immunisation) is B

Consent is legally valid if all of the following have been fulfilled. The:
person giving consent has the legal and intellectual capacity to do so
consent is given voluntarily
consent is given after explanation of the benefits and risks of the relevant vaccine(s)
person giving consent has had suitable opportunity to find out further relevant information
A child's parent or legal guardian usually has the authority to provide vaccination consent. In this instance, a person is a child if they are under 18 years of age in all Australian states or territories except:
New South Wales where a person under 14 years of age is defined as a child
South Australia and the Northern Territory where a person under 16 years of age is defined as a child
Children of particular maturity and age may be able to consent to vaccination. State and territory immunisation service provider guidelines should be consulted for information on consent from children. Children who refuse vaccinations consented to by their parent/legal guardian should have their wishes respected and the parent/guardian informed.
Consent needs to be documented in the person's medical records. When a vaccination program is explained and consented to at a visit and agreed to vaccinations are provided at other visits, explicit verbal consent is required before each vaccination at the subsequent visits irrespective of whether the original consent was verbal or written.

On pneumococcal vaccine,
The correct response is (a).
Provided they are well, babies born preterm should be immunised according to the standard schedule, beginning at birth, and without correction for prematurity. Preterm babies have adequate antibody responses to most vaccines and are at increased risk for vaccine-preventable diseases. So babies still in hospital at 2 months after birth should be given DTPa, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), IPV, pneumococcal conjugate, and rotavirus vaccines.
Preterm babies may not respond optimally to hepatitis B, Hib and pneumococcal vaccination. Babies born before 28 weeks gestation (and some other babies) require an extra dose of PRP-OMP and pnemococcal vaccines. It is recommended that babies born before 32 weeks gestation (and those weighing less than 2000 g at birth) receive hepatitis B vaccine at 0, 2, 4 and 6 months and then a booster at 12 months. The 12-month booster can be left out if the anti-HBs response is measured at 7 months and found to be 10 mIU/mL or greater.
Preterm babies who continue to experience health issues at 6 months should receive influenza vaccination - especially if the problems are cardiac, neurological or respiratory.
Up to the age of 2 months, babies born before 37 weeks should be vaccinated using the same needle gauges and insertion angles as full-term babies but a 16 mm length needle should be used rather than 25 mm. Routine vaccinations in preterm babies in hospital can cause increased apnoea. Routine vaccinations are not associated with increased apnoea in babies at home and are not associated with increased Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) risk.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Age Care/Anaemia/DVT

Q9/1
Greta J. is a frail 82 year old patient who presents with a two month history of increasingly severe dyspnoea on exertion. You do a full blood count, and find that it shows a normochromic normocytic anaemia. Which of the following is most likely to show this result on FBE?
a) Bleeding piles
b) Diverticulitis
c) Carcinoma of the large bowel
d) Chronic renal failure

Q9/2
Albert S. developed a deep vein thrombosis in his right leg two months ago. In spite of warfarin therapy, he now has one in his left leg. You are worried that this might be a sign of some other underlying pathology. Which of the following conditions is associated most strongly with the development of recurrent DVTs?

a) Metastatic disease Correct
b) Cigarette smoking
c) Testosterone replacement therapy
d) Varicose veins

For easy reference, I am beginning to code the question: Q9/1 means Question 1 of September, ... Quote the reference code in your answer. I shall also begin to give the answer as a new post instead of adding in as comments. I shall also try to post the answer before the question is hidden under older post.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Confidentiality

16 year old girl, came to you on the first occasion to obtain emergency contraception. On second occasion, she request for OCP and told you that she would not like her parents to know about her taking the pills. 2 days later, the mother came with the empty packs of OCP which she found in the dustbin. She was agitated and wanted to know what her daughter was given. How would you respond? Give reasons to support your response.

This is a short case that came out in Part II, 2008. Shoot now and see how close you get to the target. It is beTTer to make mistakes now. Interactive exercise is essential for part II. Those going for part I should also start preparing for part II because you are only given 2 to 3 months after the Part I to prepare for Part II. Bear in mind that confidentially is another favourite post-grad topic, it can come out in KFP or Single Best Answer!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Consent for vaccination

Those areas of weakness that we tend to dislike are often the favourites in postgraduate exams. One of these area is the regarding the consent. Another one is regarding confidentiality (I will look out for this and post it later. BTW, I would like to aknowledge that all these posting are adopted from gplearning provided by racgp. Nevertheless, we can make it more interesting here by interacting with one another.

Which one of the following is correct regarding valid consent for vaccination?
a) Consent of a parent or legal guardian is required for vaccination of all Australians under 16 years of age
b) Explicit verbal consent is required at all follow-up vaccination visits even when written consent to the vaccination plan has recently been given
c) The person giving consent no longer needs to have the opportunity to seek further information for consent to be valid
d) Valid consent is automatically fulfilled if a 14-year-old child says they will have a vaccination even though they don't want to and their parents are forcing them into it

The answer and explanation shall be given as one of the comments after 5 responses by 5 different candidates.

Pneumococcal vaccine

What about pneumococcal vacccine? The questions is asked in Australian context. Wonder whether it is the same here. You may post your comment to clarify the matter.


Major clinical manifestations of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) include pneumonia, meningitis and bacteraemia without focus. Vaccination against the causative organism, Streptococcus pneumoniae, is available. Which one of the following statements is correct?
a) Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine 23-valent (23vPPV) is recommended as an annual injection for the same group of patients who should receive influenza vaccine
b) Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 7-valent (7vPCV) is recommended for all Australian children aged less than 2 years
c) Revaccination with 23vPPV should be avoided in adults because of increased risk of increased adverse reaction rates and no improvement in antibody titres
d) An 18-24-month booster of 7vPCV should be used for children who are Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander (ATSI) and living in the Northern Territory,
Queensland, South Australia or Western Australia

Rotavirus vaccination

Still on rotavirus. Try this
New mum, Charlene, asks a lot of questions about rotavirus vaccine as she has not heard of it. Which of the following statements is true?
a) The monovalent rotavirus vaccine should be given in two doses at about 2 months and 4 months of age - both doses need to be received before the age of 7.5 months
b) The pentavalent rotavirus vaccine should be given in two doses at about 2 months and 4 months of age - both doses need to be received before the age of 7.5 months
c) One of the rotavirus vaccines available in Australia is not a live attenuated virus vaccine
d) An infant's food consumption does not need to be restricted before or after receiving either of the available rotavirus vaccines

Cold chain/vaccines another favourite question!

Try this, it may come out in the coming exam. This question is picked up from gplearning. As far as I could remember it did not appear in Part 1 2008 exam. Cold chain was asked in KFP if I am not mistaken. So, this year it may appear in Single Best Answer. Watch out!

In relation to the storage of vaccines, which one of the following statements is true?
a) Most vaccines should be kept frozen during transportation
b) Most vaccines should be refrigerated between 2 and 8°C
c) Vaccines should be removed from their packaging prior to storage
d) Vaccines can be stored anywhere in a domestic refrigerator

Again, I shall post the answer and explanation after 5 reponses.

BTW, please get the other candidates you know to participate actively to make this blog more interesting.