INI-CET 2023 - Psychiatry PYQs Practice Questions

Q: La belle indifference is seen in?

Conversion disorder. ***Conversion disorder*** - **La belle indifference** refers to a patient's unconcerned attitude towards their symptoms, which are often dramatic, and is a classic but not pathognomonic feature of conversion disorder. - In **conversion disorder**, psychological stress is "converted" into physical symptoms affecting voluntary motor or sensory function, such as paralysis or blindness, without a neurological explanation. *Depression* - Patients with depression typically exhibit significant **distress** and concern over their symptoms, such as **sadness**, loss of interest, and functional impairment. - The emotional state in depression is characterized by dysphoria and often includes pronounced feelings of **helplessness** and **hopelessness**. *Cotard syndrome* - Is a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by a **nihilistic delusion**, where a person believes they are dead, do not exist, or have lost their organs or blood. - Patients with Cotard syndrome often show severe **anxiety**, **distress**, and sometimes withdrawal, rather than indifference to their bizarre symptoms. *Schizophrenia* - Patients with schizophrenia may display a range of emotional responses, including **flat affect** or **inappropriate affect**, but not typically "la belle indifference." - Their symptoms often include **hallucinations**, **delusions**, and disorganized thought, which usually cause significant impairment and distress, sometimes leading to significant isolation or perceived threats. [Practice more Psychiatry PYQs on OnCourse]

Q: A patient tells psychiatrist: "My brain is missing. What is the point of me eating anything. I am already dead". The patient has which type of delusion?

Nihilistic delusion. ***Nihilistic delusion*** - The patient's statements ("**My brain is missing**," "**I am already dead**," "What is the point of me eating anything") are characteristic of **nihilistic delusions**, specifically Cotard's syndrome. - This type of delusion involves a belief in the non-existence of oneself, parts of one's body, or the entire world. *Delusion of misidentification* - This involves a belief that familiar people or objects have been replaced by imposters, or that someone is a different person entirely. - The patient's statements do not describe the misidentification of another person or object. *Bizarre Delusion* - While the statements could be considered bizarre, **bizarre delusions** are defined as clearly implausible, not understandable, and not derived from ordinary life experiences (e.g., aliens implanted a chip in my brain). - Nihilistic delusions, especially in the context of Cotard's syndrome, are a specific subtype of delusion that can be bizarre, but "nihilistic delusion" is a more precise characterization here. *Hypochondriacal Delusion* - This involves a false belief of having a severe disease despite medical reassurance. - While there is a physical component to the delusion ("my brain is missing"), the overarching theme of non-existence and being dead goes beyond a simple preoccupation with illness. [Practice more Psychiatry PYQs on OnCourse]

Q: A 14-year-old female patient presents to the ENT OPD and complains that she can hear sounds clearly but has difficulty processing and understanding what is being said. Her Pure tone audiometry and ABR are normal. What is the likely diagnosis in this patient?

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD). ***Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)*** - **CAPD** is characterized by difficulty processing and understanding auditory information despite normal peripheral hearing, as indicated by normal pure tone audiometry and ABR. - The patient's inability to comprehend spoken words despite hearing them clearly is a hallmark symptom of **CAPD**. *Auditory cortex lesion* - While an **auditory cortex lesion** could impair sound processing, it would likely result in more profound and specific deficits in sound localization, discrimination, or recognition, rather than just difficulty understanding speech with otherwise normal hearing tests. - **Unilateral lesions** might cause mild or transient auditory issues, but bilateral lesions typically lead to **cortical deafness**, which contradicts the patient's ability to "hear sounds clearly." *Malingering* - **Malingering** involves deliberately fabricating or exaggerating symptoms for secondary gain, which is unlikely given the consistent presentation of difficulty understanding speech despite normal, objective hearing tests like ABR. - There are no indications in the case of **inconsistent test results** or other behaviors suggestive of feigned symptoms. *Sensorineural hearing loss* - **Sensorineural hearing loss** involves damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve, which would result in abnormal pure tone audiometry results and/or abnormal ABR findings. - The patient's **normal pure tone audiometry and ABR** rule out sensorineural hearing loss as the primary cause of her symptoms. [Practice more Psychiatry PYQs on OnCourse]

Question 1

La belle indifference is seen in?

Accepted Answer

Conversion disorder

Answer

Depression

Answer

Cotard syndrome

Answer

Schizophrenia

Question 2

A patient tells psychiatrist: "My brain is missing. What is the point of me eating anything. I am already dead".
The patient has which type of delusion?

Accepted Answer

Nihilistic delusion

Answer

Delusion of misidentification

Answer

Bizarre Delusion

Answer

Hypochondriacal Delusion

Question 3

A 14-year-old female patient presents to the ENT OPD and complains that she can hear sounds clearly but has difficulty processing and understanding what is being said. Her Pure tone audiometry and ABR are normal. What is the likely diagnosis in this patient?

Accepted Answer

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)

Answer

Auditory cortex lesion

Answer

Malingering

Answer

Sensorineural hearing loss

INI-CET 2023 — Psychiatry