OVERVIEW
This page is dedicated to organizing various examples of standardized exam questions whose answer is vitamin A deficiency. While this may seem a odd practice, it is useful to see multiple examples of how vitamin A deficiency 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 4 year old boy is brought to the clinic by his parents because he has been having complaints of dry eyes and photophobia. This patient also seems to be having difficulty in adapting to darkness. His parents comment that he is a very poor eater, and that his diet mainly consists of canned foods. Very rarely can they convince him to have fresh vegetables, or milk. A physical exam reveals the presence of dry, scaly skin, as well as follicular hyperkeratosis on the extensor surfaces of the extremities. There are also dry, silver-gray plaques on the conjunctiva. What is the most likely diagnosis in this patient?
Explanation: poor eater + inability to adjust to the dark + photophobia + dry scaly skin + dry eyes + follicular hyperkeratosis = vitamin A deficiency
Page Updated: 11.24.2016