Fascial compartments Practice Questions

Question 1

A 20-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department because of severe muscle soreness, nausea, and darkened urine for 2 days. The patient is on the college track team and has been training intensively for an upcoming event. One month ago, she had a urinary tract infection and was treated with nitrofurantoin. She appears healthy. Her temperature is 37°C (98.6°F), pulse is 64/min, and blood pressure is 110/70 mm Hg. Cardiopulmonary examination shows no abnormalities. The abdomen is soft and non-tender. There is diffuse muscle tenderness over the arms, legs, and back. Laboratory studies show:
Hemoglobin 12.8 g/dL
Leukocyte count 7,000/mm3
Platelet count 265,000/mm3
Serum
Creatine kinase 22,000 U/L
Lactate dehydrogenase 380 U/L
Urine
Blood 3+
Protein 1+
RBC negative
WBC 1–2/hpf
This patient is at increased risk for which of the following complications?

Accepted Answer

Acute kidney injury

Answer

Myocarditis

Answer

Metabolic alkalosis

Answer

Compartment syndrome

Answer

Hemolytic anemia

Question 2

An epidemiologist is evaluating the efficacy of Noxbinle in preventing HCC deaths at the population level. A clinical trial shows that over 5 years, the mortality rate from HCC was 25% in the control group and 15% in patients treated with Noxbinle 100 mg daily. Based on this data, how many patients need to be treated with Noxbinle 100 mg to prevent, on average, one death from HCC?

Accepted Answer

10

Answer

20

Answer

73

Answer

50

Answer

100

Question 3

Three days after undergoing laparoscopic colectomy, a 67-year-old man reports swelling and pain in his right leg. He was diagnosed with colon cancer 1 month ago. His temperature is 38.5°C (101.3°F). Physical examination shows swelling of the right leg from the ankle to the thigh. There is no erythema or rash. Which of the following is likely to be most helpful in establishing the diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

Compression ultrasonography

Answer

D-dimer level

Answer

CT pulmonary angiography

Answer

Transthoracic echocardiography

Answer

Blood cultures

Question 4

A 35-year-old man is referred to a physical therapist due to limitation of movement in the wrist and fingers of his left hand. He cannot hold objects or perform daily activities with his left hand. He broke his left arm at the humerus one month ago. The break was simple and treatment involved a cast for one month. Then he lost his health insurance and could not return for follow up. Only after removing the cast did he notice the movement issues in his left hand and wrist. His past medical history is otherwise insignificant, and vital signs are within normal limits. On examination, the patient’s left hand is pale and flexed in a claw-like position. It is firm and tender to palpation. Right radial pulse is 2+ and left radial pulse is 1+. The patient is unable to actively extend his fingers and wrist, and passive extension is difficult and painful. Which of the following is a proper treatment for the presented patient?

Accepted Answer

Surgical release

Answer

Botulinum toxin injections

Answer

Collagenase injections

Answer

Needle fasciotomy

Answer

Corticosteroid injections

Question 5

A 31-year-old man presents to the Emergency Department with severe left leg pain and paresthesias 4 hours after his leg got trapped by the closing door of a bus. Initially, he had a mild pain which gradually increased to unbearable levels. Past medical history is noncontributory. In the Emergency Department, his blood pressure is 130/80 mm Hg, heart rate is 87/min, respiratory rate is 14/min, and temperature is 36.8℃ (98.2℉). On physical exam, his left calf is firm and severely tender on palpation. The patient cannot actively dorsiflex his left foot, and passive dorsiflexion is limited. Posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis pulses are 2+ in the right leg and 1+ in the left leg. Axial load does not increase the pain. Which of the following is the best next step in the management of this patient?

Accepted Answer

Fasciotomy

Answer

Lower limb CT scan

Answer

Lower limb ultrasound

Answer

Splinting and limb rest

Answer

Lower limb X-ray in two projections

Question 6

A 28-year-old male presents to his primary care physician with complaints of intermittent abdominal pain and alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea. His medical chart is not significant for any past medical problems or prior surgeries. He is not prescribed any current medications. Which of the following questions would be the most useful next question in eliciting further history from this patient?

Accepted Answer

"Can you tell me more about the symptoms you have been experiencing?"

Answer

"Does the diarrhea typically precede the constipation, or vice-versa?"

Answer

"Is the diarrhea foul-smelling?"

Answer

"Please rate your abdominal pain on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worst pain of your life"

Answer

"Are the symptoms worse in the morning or at night?"

Question 7

A 48-year-old male presents to his primary care provider with a two-week history of low back pain and left leg pain. He reports that his symptoms started while he was working at his job as a construction worker. He has since experienced intermittent achy pain over his lumbar spine. He has also noticed pain radiating into his left leg and weakness in left ankle dorsiflexion. On exam, he demonstrates the following findings on strength testing of the left leg: 5/5 in knee extension, 4/5 in ankle dorsiflexion, 4/5 in great toe extension, 5/5 in ankle plantarflexion, and 5/5 in great toe flexion. The patellar reflexes are 5/5 bilaterally. He is able to toe walk but has difficulty with heel walking. Weakness in which of the following compartments of the leg is most likely causing this patient’s foot drop?

Accepted Answer

Anterior compartment

Answer

Lateral compartment

Answer

Superficial posterior compartment

Answer

Deep posterior compartment

Answer

Medial compartment

Question 8

A 23-year-old woman presents to the emergency department with an acute exacerbation of her 3-month history of low back and right leg pain. She says she has had similar symptoms in the past, but this time the pain was so excruciating, it took her breath away. She describes the pain as severe, shock-like, and localized to her lower back and radiating straight down the back of her right thigh and to her calf, stopping at the ankle. Her pain is worse in the morning, and, sometimes, the pain wakes her up at night with severe buttock and posterior thigh pain but walking actually makes the pain subside somewhat. The patient reports no smoking history or alcohol or drug use. She has been working casually as a waitress and does find bending over tables a strain. She is afebrile, and her vital signs are within normal limits. On physical examination, her left straight leg raise test is severely limited and reproduces her buttock pain at 20° of hip flexion. Pain is worsened by the addition of ankle dorsiflexion. The sensation is intact. Her L4 and L5 reflexes are normal, but her S1 reflex is absent on the right side. A CT of the lumbar spine shows an L5–S1 disc protrusion with right S1 nerve root compression. Which of the following muscle-nerve complexes is involved in producing an S1 reflex?

Accepted Answer

Gastrocnemius/soleus-tibial nerve

Answer

Adductors-obturator nerve

Answer

Sartorius-femoral nerve

Answer

Tibialis posterior-tibial nerve

Answer

Quadriceps femoris-femoral nerve

Question 9

A 68-year-old man is brought to the emergency department by ambulance after he was found to be altered at home. Specifically, his wife says that he fell and was unable to get back up while walking to bed. When she approached him, she found that he was unable to move his left leg. His past medical history is significant for hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and diabetes. In addition, he has a 20-pack-year smoking history. On presentation, he is found to still have difficulty moving his left leg though motor function in his left arm is completely intact. The cause of this patient's symptoms most likely occurred in an artery supplying which of the following brain regions?

Accepted Answer

Motor cortex (ACA)

Answer

Cerebellum (PICA/SCA)

Answer

Occipital cortex (PCA)

Answer

Brainstem (Vertebrobasilar)

Answer

Motor cortex (MCA)

Question 10

An investigator is studying the effects of an antihypertensive drug during pregnancy. Follow-up studies show that the drug can adversely affect differentiation of the ureteric bud into its direct derivatives in fetuses exposed during the first trimester. Which of the following structures is most likely to develop incorrectly in the affected fetus?

Accepted Answer

Collecting ducts

Answer

Proximal convoluted tubule

Answer

Loop of Henle

Answer

Bladder

Answer

Distal convoluted tubule

Fascial compartments

Study Resources

Lessons

Questions

Flashcards

Lessons

Principles of fascial spaces

Head and neck fascial spaces

Thoracic fascial planes

Abdominal fascial planes

Upper limb fascial compartments

Lower limb fascial compartments

Compartment syndrome pathophysiology

Spread of infection through fascial planes

Surgical approaches to fascial compartments

Clinical correlations of fascial spaces

Practice Questions

Flashcards

About Fascial compartments for USMLE

Lessons in Fascial compartments

Master Fascial compartments