Tuberculosis: ABFM practice questions

7 board-style questions on tuberculosis in the PulseMD family medicine question bank — physician-reviewed, written against current guidelines with the reference cited on each question. Two free samples below; the full set with answers, explanations, and spaced review is free to start.

Sample question 1

A 32-year-old healthcare worker from the Philippines immigrated to the United States 6 months ago. She has no symptoms. As part of her employment screening, a tuberculin skin test (TST) is placed and read at 48 hours showing 12 mm of induration. She has no history of BCG vaccination. Chest X-ray is normal. What is the most appropriate next step?

1. No treatment is needed since she is asymptomatic with a normal chest X-ray
2. Obtain sputum for acid-fast bacilli smear and culture
3. Repeat TST in 2 weeks to confirm the result
4. Treat for latent tuberculosis infection

Sample question 2

A 40-year-old man from Ethiopia presents with 3 weeks of productive cough, night sweats, unintentional 5 kg weight loss, and low-grade fevers. Chest X-ray shows a right upper lobe cavitary lesion with surrounding infiltrate. Three sputum samples are sent for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear and culture. The initial AFB smear is positive. While awaiting culture and susceptibility results, what is the most appropriate initial treatment regimen?

1. Daily isoniazid monotherapy with pyridoxine for 9 months, without additional agents
2. Isoniazid and rifampin dual therapy for 6 months, without pyrazinamide or ethambutol
3. Levofloxacin and rifampin combination therapy for 9 months, without other first-line agents
4. Isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol for 2 months, then isoniazid and rifampin for 4 months

Create a free PulseMD account to answer these, see the explanations, and practice five minutes a day.

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