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Question 1
Incorrect
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A 2 year old female was taken to her local emergency department with jerking movements in her limbs. This lasted for around 10 seconds, and then she fell unconscious. She soon regained consciousness - she was disorientated but afebrile with no symptoms of meningeal irritation. From the list of options, chose the most appropriate investigation route for this patient.
Your Answer: No investigation needed
Correct Answer: 24 hour EEG
Explanation:Many of the symptoms favour an epilepsy diagnosis: uncontrollable jerking of the limbs and a loss of consciousness. A 24-hour EEG is used to diagnose epilepsy.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 2
Incorrect
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A 6 month old baby presents with uncontrollable movements of her hands and feet, shortly after being unconscious for a while. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Your Answer: Partial complex
Correct Answer: Infantile spasm
Explanation:Infantile spasm belongs to the spectrum of seizure disorders. Infantile spasm manifests itself with loss of consciousness and jerky movements. The peak age of onset is between 4 and 6 months. Approximately 90% of infantile spasms begin before 12 months of age. It is rare for infantile spasms to begin during the first 2 weeks of life or after 18 months.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 3
Incorrect
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An 18 year old, previously well boy was admitted following a generalized tonic-clonic convulsion for 5 minutes with urinary incontinence and eye rolling. On examination, he was drowsy and had bilateral up going plantar reflexes. A short while ago he had been playing rugby and had taken a hit to the head. He was apparently normal for a few minutes before fitting. His blood sugar level was normal. Which of the following is the most probable reason for this presentation?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Post-traumatic seizure
Explanation:The history is suggestive of a post-traumatic seizure which frequently occurs after moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. Although upgoing plantars can be identified in a post-ictal status, an intracranial bleed has to be excluded. A single seizure cannot be considered epilepsy
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 4
Incorrect
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A 7-month-old abandoned baby with congenital non-communicating hydrocephalus is hosted by a clinic at its new-born hostel. A CT scan of the baby's brain reveals what might be a blockage of the ventricular system between the third and the fourth ventricles. Which of the following is the most likely blocked structure?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Cerebral aqueduct
Explanation:The drainage of cerebral spinal fluid from the third ventricle to the fourth ventricle is carried out by the cerebral aqueduct. The cerebral aqueduct is the narrowest passageway in the entire ventricular system and thus forms the most common site of blockage of flow of cerebrospinal fluid. The interventricular foramen allows passage of CSF to the third ventricle. The foramen of Luschka and Magendie are located on the fourth ventricle and allow passage of CSF to the subarachnoid space from the ventricular system. The pontine cistern is a space located on the ventral aspect of the pons. The cisterna magna is an opening on the subarachnoid space between the pia matter and the arachnoid.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 5
Incorrect
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A 7-month-old abandoned baby with congenital non-communicating hydrocephalus is hosted by a clinic at its new-born hostel. A CT scan of the baby's brain reveals what might be a blockage of the ventricular system between the third and the fourth ventricles. Which of the following is the most likely blocked structure?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Cerebral aqueduct
Explanation:The drainage of cerebral spinal fluid from the third ventricle to the fourth ventricle is carried out by the cerebral aqueduct. The cerebral aqueduct is the narrowest passageway in the entire ventricular system and thus forms the most common site of blockage of flow of cerebrospinal fluid. The interventricular foramen allows passage of CSF to the third ventricle. The foramen of Luschka and Magendie are located on the fourth ventricle and allow passage of CSF to the subarachnoid space from the ventricular system. The pontine cistern is a space located on the ventral aspect of the pons. The cisterna magna is an opening on the subarachnoid space between the pia matter and the arachnoid.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 6
Incorrect
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A 17-year-old girl presented with fever, headache and photophobia. Cerebrospinal fluid examination reveals:Opening pressure 260 mm H20 (50-180)Total protein 0.8 g/l (0.15-0.45)Glucose 4.2 mmol/l (3.3-4.4)White cell count 60 per ml (<5)Lymphocytes 90%Plasma glucose 6.4 mmol/l (3.0-6.0)Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Viral meningitis
Explanation:Normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose together with lymphocytosis, an increased opening pressure and raised CSF protein are typical of a viral meningitis.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 7
Incorrect
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A 10-year-old gentleman is referred with a six month history of daily headache, which is mostly frontal in location and occasionally associated with nausea.He has been taking paracetamol 3 g daily, aspirin 300 mg thrice daily, and codeine 40 mg thrice daily, all of which have had only a temporary effect. He has a two year history of depression treated with paroxetine. No abnormalities were found on examination.What is the most likely diagnosis?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Analgesic misuse headache
Explanation:Because of the patient’s history of chronic analgesic use of daily paracetamol intake, the most likely diagnosis of this case is Analgesic misuse headache. In these cases, the headache is only temporarily relieved by analgesics. Treatment involves gradual withdrawal of analgesics.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 8
Incorrect
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A 12 year old female presents at her local emergency room with a complete loss of consciousness, intercostal retractions, no residual signs and no post-ictal phase. She later went on to have a full recovery. From the list of options, choose the most probable diagnosis.
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Partial generalized seizure
Explanation:The symptoms of a partial generalized seizure are consistent with this patient.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 9
Incorrect
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A 5 year old boy visited Ghana with his family and arrived back home 6 weeks ago. 2 days ago he developed neck stiffness, a fever, and vomiting. He did not present with a rash and was treated with malaria prophylaxis. Choose the correct diagnosis from the list of options.
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Cerebral malaria
Explanation:Due to malaria’s incubation period being between 7 and 30 days, malaria prophylaxis cannot provide a patient with confirmed protection. Prophylaxis treatment also often fails. The symptoms such as neck stiffness, fever, and vomiting are also consistent with the cerebral malaria diagnosis.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 10
Incorrect
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A 11-year-old is referred to neurology due to episodes her GP feels are epileptiform. Her mother reports that she appears to just 'stop', sometimes even in mid conversation, for several seconds at random times during the day. During these episodes, she can be unresponsive to questioning and has no recollection of them.Which of these drugs is contraindicated in this condition?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Carbamazepine
Explanation:The patient’s history points to absence seizures. Carbamazepine has been shown to aggravate generalized seizure types, especially absence seizures, because it acts directly on the ventrobasal complex of the thalamus which is critical to the neurophysiology of absence seizures.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 11
Incorrect
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A 13-year-old boy complains of several episodes of collapse. He describes the majority of these episodes occurring when he is laughing. He states that he loses power in his legs and falls to the ground. He is alert throughout and recovers quickly. He also describes excessive daytime sleepiness with episodes in the morning of being awake but being unable to move his body. Examination is unremarkable. A diagnosis of narcolepsy is made. Which of the following is the first line treatment for excessive daytime sleepiness?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Modafinil
Explanation:Narcolepsy is a rare condition characterised by excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations, and cataplexy (sudden collapse triggered by emotion such as laughing or crying). There is no cure for narcolepsy. Treatment options include stimulants, such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) or modafinil (Provigil), antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac), citalopram (Celexa), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft) and sodium oxybate (Xyrem). Modafinil has replaced methylphenidate and amphetamine as the first-line treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 12
Incorrect
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A 12-year-old girl is recovering from bilateral parotitis. She complains of a continuous headache and drowsiness. A CT brain is done which is normal. What is the best definitive investigation in this case?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Lumbar puncture
Explanation:This patient might have viral meningitis as he recently suffered viral parotitis(Mumps). Microscopy and culture of the CSF would show a CSF lymphocytosis.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 13
Incorrect
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A 12-year old girl was brought to the hospital with recurrent headaches for 6 months. Her physical examination revealed no abnormality. A CT scan of the head revealed a suprasellar mass with calcifications, eroding the surrounding sella turcica. The lesion is likely to represent:
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Craniopharyngioma
Explanation:Craniopharyngiomas (also known as Rathke pouch tumours, adamantinomas or hypophyseal duct tumours) affect children mainly between the age of 5 and 10 years. It constitutes 9% of brain tumours affecting the paediatric population. These are slow-growing tumours which can also be cystic, and arise from the pituitary stalk, specifically the nests of epithelium derived from Rathke’s pouch. Histologically, this tumour shows nests of squamous epithelium which is lined on the outside by radially arranged cells. Calcium deposition is often seen with a papillary type of architecture.
ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas are rare and mostly microadenomas. Paediatric astrocytoma’s usually occur in the posterior fossa. Although null cell adenomas can cause mass effect and give rise to the described symptoms, they are not suprasellar. Prolactinomas can also show symptoms of headache and disturbances in the visual field, however they are known to be small and slow-growing. -
This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 14
Incorrect
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A 14 year-old is brought to the ED after being hit on the head with a cricket ball during a match. His teacher describes that he initially collapsed on the ground and complained of a sore head. Two minutes later, he got up and said he felt OK and continued playing. However, 30 minutes later he suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness. What injury is he most likely to have sustained?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Extradural haematoma
Explanation:A lucid interval, in which the patient portrays a temporary improvement in condition after a traumatic brain injury, is especially indicative of an epidural haematoma.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 15
Incorrect
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Which of the following signs suggests an absence seizure instead of a partial complex seizure?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Induction by hyperventilation
Explanation:Absence seizures are induced by over breathing or hyperventilation, while the other features suggest partial seizures.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 16
Incorrect
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Neurofibromatosis is characterised by which of the following?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Scoliosis
Explanation:Neurofibromatosis (aka Von Recklinghausen’s disease) includes: neurofibrosarcomas, pheochromocytoma, optic nerve tumours, scoliosis and acoustic neuromas.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 17
Incorrect
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An 8-month-old infant is presented to the paediatrics ward with a history of delayed developmental milestones since birth. On examination, he has poor muscle tone and balance, and a head circumference, which is greater than normal. Imaging of the patient's head revealed a diminished cerebellar vermis, a large fourth ventricle, and an enlarged posterior fossa. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Dandy-Walker syndrome
Explanation:Dandy-Walker syndrome is characterised by symptoms of brain maldevelopment that are seen in this patient. A large cranium indicates hydrocephalus, and the hypotonia indicates poor limb development.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 18
Incorrect
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A 7-year-old boy was brought to the ED in an unconscious and apnoeic state. What is your immediate management of this case?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Secure airway
Explanation:ABC : Airway, breathing, circulation is the order of assessment in any patient that is unconscious and apnoeic.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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