need help with your account or subscription? click here to email us (or see the contact page)
join telegramNEW! discord
jump to exam page:
search for anything ⋅ score predictor (โ€œpredict me!โ€)

Retired NBME 18 Answers

nbme18/Block 2/Question#17 (reveal difficulty score)
65 yo woman, 1 week of swollen, painful knee
Uric acid ๐Ÿ” / ๐Ÿ“บ / ๐ŸŒณ / ๐Ÿ“–
tags:

 Login (or register) to see more


 +0  upvote downvote
submitted by i-de-liver(2)
get full access to all contentpick a username

Does anyone know why this is Uric Acid not N. gonorrhea? All I see in the micrograph are neutrophils. Is that white line in the middle of the picture that overlays the lymphocyte supposed to be the needle-shaped uric acid? Or is it because she's an old lady and usually septic Arthritis is from S. Aureus, so it would more like by uric acid and not gonorrhea since she's older?

get full access to all contentpick a username
maverick95  I struggled between those two answer choices as well. I thought that the large needle shape right in the middle was a uric acid crystal which helped push me towards Uric Acid as my answer. I also took into account that she was older (even though STIs are rampant among the elderly) she didn't really seem to have any other symptoms or history of STI/gonorrhea. I figured with her age that she just wasn't able to excrete Uric Acid enough, and got a gout. Something a pathologist told me one time was that they put the focus of the picture in the middle of the shot. So considering the uric acid-looking shape was right in the middle, I figured that's what they wanted us to focus on with the picture. Hope this helps. +19
i-de-liver  Ah gotcha! I guess I shouldn't have thought that the thing in the middle was an artifact lol... thank you!! +2
a1913  I believe it's because: 1) there is nothing given that would be risk factors for this woman to have N. gonorrhea 2) The thing in the middle is indeed an MSU crystal, just not under polarized light 3) apparently we get acute inflammation and increase in WBCs with crystal-induced arthropathies, per Table 11-2 on page 8 here (10 page document, top of page of interest will say p. 260) --> http://downloads.lww.com/wolterskluwer_vitalstream_com/sample-content/9781582558752_Mundt/samples/Chapter_11.pdf Also take a look at the pics on the previous page, left column for an example. I got this wrong as well, but I definitely won't again! lol +5
cr  i had the same problem, Whats about the fever?, could be present in gout? +2
rainlad  I think this question mentioned the patient's temp was 100.4 which is consistent with mild fever in gout from inflammation. This photo was wack though +1
t123  The damage in gout is mediated by Neutrophils, so makes complete sense you see a bunch. +6
stunna216  actually STI's arent that rampant in the elderly, more common to get E. coli infections +



Must-See Comments from nbme18

feliperamirez on He is medically qualified to drive
anechakfspb on Tubular atrophy
aneurysmclip on Endothelial nitric oxide synthase production
azibird on 24,25-Dihydroxycholecalciferol
famylife on Increased transcription of HMG-CoA reductase
match95 on Plasmid loss
apurva on Antineoplastic
cbreland on Basement Membranes
match95 on Proximal tubule: isotonic; Macula densa: ...
sugaplum on Abnormal migration of endoderm from the ...
amirmullick3 on Myelofibrosis
merpaperple on Primary spermatocyte
wishmewell on Alpha-synuclein
namira on Greening reaction on blood agar

search for anything NEW!