Ultrasound
Online CME Courses

Acute Abdomen Quiz

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1. The etiology of acute abdominal pain may arise from the following causes:

Infection, trauma, vascular, acquired

Trauma, mechanical, vascular, infection, congenital

Infection, vascular, acquired, autonomic

Mechanical, infection, autonomic, congenital

2. The bacterial infectious category of causes for an acute abdomen would include all conditions except:

acute appendicitus

diverticulitis

pelvic inflammatory disease

perforation of an ulcer


3. The diagnosis of the origin of pain in the abdomen may be difficult to assess because of:

sympathetic nervous chain and transmitted signals from the related muscles to the nerve centers

received signals from the muscles to the sympathetic nervous chain

increased blood supply to the area of infection

infection within the sympathetic nervous chain


4. Several factors are important to understand the cause of the acute abdomen; these may include all of the following except:

age

laboratory findings

number of pregnancies

past and present history


5. Clinical symptoms of acute appendicitus may include all except:

epigastric pain with extension into the right iliac fossae

nausea and vomiting

superificial tenderness over the iliac fossae

fever


6. In the early stages of pancreatitis, the sonographer may find the following changes in the sonographic appearance of the gland except:

hyperechoic texture as compared to the liver

hypoechoic texture as compared to the liver

edematous gland with hypoechoic texture

indistinct borders with smooth lobulations


7. The most dangerous type of aortic dissection occurs:

at the diagphragm

at the root of the aorta

at the level of the subclavian artery

at the level of the bifurcation of the aorta


8. The diagnosis of a aortic dissection is most adequately evaluated with:

abdominal ultrasound

transthoracic echocardiography

intravascular ultrasound

transesophageal echocardiography


9. The most common site for an ectopic pregnancy to occur is:

at the cornu of the uterus

at the fimbrulae of the tube

at the ampullary portion of the tube

at the infundibulum of the tube


10. The most sensitive finding in a patient with an ectopic pregnancy is:

no gestational sac in the endometrial cavity

corpus luteum in the ovary

free fluid in the cul-de-sac

enlargement of the uterus


11. The edema found within the gallbladder wall in a patient with acute cholecystitis may result from:

mechanical obstruction

bacterial invasion

hydrops

distention of the gallbladder


12. Stones obstructing the cystic duct are present in over ____ of patients.

80%

60%

40%

20%


13. The most frequent organs to be injured in an automobile accident include:

pancreas, spleen, kidneys

spleen, gallbladder, pancreas

liver, spleen, kidneys

gallbladder, pancreas, liver


14. Trauma to the kidney may result in the development of all the following except:

subcapsular hematoma

renal contusion

cortical laceration

arcuate obstruction


15. Which statement is false regarding sonographic findings in acute hepatitis:

decreased parenchymal echogenicity pattern

increased parenchymal echogenicity pattern

increased brightness along portal venule walls

hepatosplenomegaly


16. The most common abdominal emergency in children under two years of age is:

acute cholecystitis

trauma

intussusception

acute pancreatitis


17. A seventeen year old male presented to the emergency room with epigastric pain extending into the right iliac fossa. He reported that he was nauseous with vomiting and really did not feel like eating. His temperature was 102.7°F and he squealed with pain when the resident palpated his right lower quadrant. Your sonography examination would begin with:

upper abdomen with careful attention to the pancreatic area

pelvic area with careful attention to the right lower quadrant

right upper quadrant to look for a ruptured gallbladder

epigastric area to look for free fluid


18. A forty four year old male presents to the emergency room with severe epigastric pain which radiates to the back. You immediately recognize him as a frequent visitor to the ultrasound department. His liver is shrunken and the texture is coarse. He flinches when you touch his epigastric area. Your area of concentration should include:

the aorta to rule out a dissection

the pancreas to rule out pancreatitis

the gallbladder to rule out acute cholecystitis

the spleen to rule out a subcapsular hematoma


19. A forty nine year old female has been brought to the emergency room by one of her children following an acute onset of right upper quadrant pain during a weight watchers meeting. She complains of excrutiating pain radiating to the right shoulder. You place the transducer on her abdomen for a quick survey and she screams in pain. You are most likely to find

hemorrhagic pancreatitis

leaking abdominal aortic aneurysm

adenomyomatosis

acute cholecystitis with pericholecystic fluid


20 . A thirty-nine year old obese female presents with acute onset of right lower quadrant pain. She was seen last year with pelvic inflammatory disease. She states her periods are irregular and she bleeds intermittantly throughout the month. Birth control pills did not help regulate her periods so she just stopped taking them. Her private doctor said her pregnancy test was positive two weeks ago but she knows that is impossible because she could not be pregnant. She is sent for an endovaginal examination to rule out an ectopic pregnancy. What else should be evaluated in this patient?

gall bladder: acute cholecystitis could rupture into the pelvis

mesenteric thrombosis: an infarct could simulate an ectopic pregnancy

appendix: pain in the right lower quadrant could be inflammation

intussusception: bowel obstruction could cause RLQ pain