Archive Of Standardized Exam Questions: Rotavirus Enteritis

OVERVIEW

This page is dedicated to organizing various examples of standardized exam questions whose answer is Rotavirus enteritis. While this may seem a odd practice, it is useful to see multiple examples of how Rotavirus enteritis will be characterized on standardized exams (namely the boards and the shelf exams). This page is not meant to be used as a tradition question bank (as all of the answers will be the same), however seeing the classic “test” characterization for a disease is quite valuable.

QUESTION EXAMPLES

Question # 1

A 17 month old girl is broth to the clinic because she has been experiencing diarrhea for the past 3 days. She attends daycare and there are several other children at the center that have similar symptoms. The water source for the day care center is a private well. The center has two pet canaries. The patient’s temperature  is currently 100.4 °F. She appears to be well hydrated. The rest of the physical exam is unremarkable. Laboratory studies show the following results:

  • Hemoglobin: 12 g/dL
  • Leukocyte count: 8500/mm³
  • Segmented neutrophils: 40%
  • Bands: 1%
  • Lymphocytes: 59%
  • Platelet count: 250,000/mm³

Examination for ova/parasites in the stool is negative. A stool culture grows no enteric pathogens. What is a possible diagnosis that should be investigated?

Explanation: Rotavirus testing should be done in the above scenario. This could very well be Rotavirus enteritis

 

Page Updated: 11.06.2016