Tuberculosis: ABFM practice questions

8 board-style questions on tuberculosis in the PulseMD family medicine question bank, 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. Isoniazid monotherapy for 9 months
  2. Isoniazid and rifampin for 6 months
  3. Levofloxacin and rifampin for 9 months
  4. Isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol for 2 months, followed by 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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