OVERVIEW
This page is dedicated to organizing various examples of standardized exam questions whose answer is Zenker diverticulum. While this may seem a odd practice, it is useful to see multiple examples of how Zenker diverticulum will be characterized on standardized exams (namely the boards and the shelf exams). This page is not meant to be used as a traditional 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 85 year old man comes to the clinic for a new patient visit. He has had 4 episodes of pneumonia over the past 9 months, and his last two episodes required inpatient hospital management. His wife explains that over the past year he has been having worse bad breath. He appears well however the physican is able to confirm the presence of halitosis. The remainder of the exam is unremarkable. A complete blood count, serum electrolyte concentrations, and liver function tests show no abnormalities. An X-ray of the chest shows scarring of the right lung base. What might the diagnosis be?
Explanation: recurrent pneumonia (aspiration) + halitosis = Zenker diverticulum
Page Updated: 01.22.2017