Shock

Q) A 25-year-old male is brought to the emergency department after a high-speed motorbike accident. He is conscious but reports inability to move his lower limbs. On examination his blood pressure is 75/40 mmHg, pulse 48/min, skin warm and dry. There is flaccid paralysis of both lower limbs and decreased sensation below the level of the umbilicus. Jugular venous pressure is low.

What is the most likely diagnosis?

A. Hypovolemic shock due to occult intra-abdominal bleed
B. Neurogenic shock due to spinal cord injury
C. Cardiogenic shock due to blunt cardiac contusion
D. Septic shock due to aspiration pneumonia
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Retinoblastoma

Q) Retinoblastoma, the most common ocular malignancy of childhood, has the following features. Which statement is TRUE?

a) It is always unilateral and sporadic
b) Bilateral disease occurs in about one-third of cases
c) It is inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion
d) It is caused by mutation of the p53 gene on chromosome 17

Esophagectomy Chyle leak

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Q) A 66-year-old male undergoes TTE. After esophagectomy, ICD output is 1000 ml chyle on 5th postoperative day. What should be the next step in management?
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Body response to Trauma

Q) A 28-year-old male is brought to the ED after a road traffic accident with polytrauma. He undergoes emergency laparotomy for splenic injury. On postoperative day 1, he develops fever (38.7°C), tachycardia (120/min), leukocytosis (18,000/µL), and hypotension requiring fluids. Blood and urine cultures are negative. No evidence of pneumonia is seen on chest X-ray.

Which of the following best explains his condition?
Answer: B. Sterile systemic inflammatory response due to DAMP release

🔍 Explanation:
Trauma and major surgery cause tissue necrosis, ischemia, and cellular injury. Intracellular molecules such as HMGB1, mitochondrial DNA, ATP, uric acid, and heat shock proteins are released and act as DAMPs (damage-associated molecular patterns).

These activate innate immune receptors like Toll-like receptors and inflammasomes (e.g., NLRP3), triggering a robust inflammatory response even in the absence of infection. This explains sterile SIRS, which can mimic sepsis but with negative cultures.

🧠 Key Point: DAMP-driven sterile inflammation is common after trauma, burns, pancreatitis, and ischemia-reperfusion injuries. It must be differentiated from infection-driven SIRS (PAMP-mediated sepsis).

IPMN Pancreas

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Q) Which of the following histological varieties of IPMN is associated with low grade dysplasia?
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MEN 1 (click the topic to see answer)

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Q) A 32-year-old woman presents with fatigue and kidney stones. Labs show:
- Serum calcium: 11.6 mg/dL (elevated)
- PTH: inappropriately elevated
- Serum prolactin: normal
- Fasting glucose: elevated, HbA1c: 7.2%
Her brother had a gastrinoma and hyperparathyroidism in his 30s.
A MEN1 mutation is detected on genetic testing.

Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in her evaluation?
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Cystic neoplasm of pancreas

Q) A 60-year-old woman is found to have a 3.2 cm pancreatic cystic lesion on MRI. EUS shows internal echogenic material within the cyst cavity. To accurately determine whether this represents mural nodules rather than intraluminal debris, which of the following is the most definitive diagnostic approach?
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Ulcerogenic cause of hypergastrinemia

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Q) A 42-year-old male presents with multiple recurrent duodenal ulcers, abdominal pain, and chronic diarrhea. Fasting serum gastrin levels are >1000 pg/mL. Which of the following is the most likely ulcerogenic cause of hypergastrinemia?
Answer: B. Zollinger–Ellison syndrome

🔍 Explanation:
Zollinger–Ellison syndrome (ZES) is caused by a gastrinoma (a gastrin-secreting tumor), typically located in the pancreas or duodenum.

It leads to massive hypergastrinemia, increased gastric acid secretion, and multiple, recurrent, or atypical peptic ulcers.

Diarrhea and steatorrhea are common due to acid inactivation of pancreatic enzymes.

Other Options:
A. Atrophic gastritis:
Leads to hypochlorhydria/achlorhydria with secondary hypergastrinemia, but non-ulcerogenic (low acid state).

C. Chronic PPI use:
Causes compensatory hypergastrinemia due to acid suppression, but again non-ulcerogenic unless stopped abruptly in predisposed individuals.

D. Helicobacter pylori infection:
May increase gastrin levels mildly, but ulcers are primarily due to mucosal damage and inflammation, not from gastrin hypersecretion.

🧠 Key Point: Zollinger–Ellison syndrome is the only ulcerogenic cause of hypergastrinemia. Fasting gastrin >1000 pg/mL with low gastric pH is diagnostic.

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Flaps in Plastic Surgery

Q: A 48-year-old male undergoes excision of a chronic pilonidal sinus with a rhomboid-shaped defect over the sacrococcygeal region. The reconstructive plan involves a local flap designed adjacent to the defect, where the flap is transposed into the primary defect and the donor site is closed primarily. The flap follows the lines of minimal skin tension and relies on subdermal vascular supply without a named artery. What is the correct classification of this flap?

A. Rotation flap
B. Axial pattern transposition flap
C. Random pattern transposition flap
D. Advancement fasciocutaneous flap