Archive Of Standardized Exam Questions: Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH)

OVERVIEW

This page is dedicated to organizing various examples of standardized exam questions whose answer is normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). While this may seem a odd practice, it is useful to see multiple examples of how normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) 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 80 year old mane is borough to the clinic by his daughter because he has been having memory problems, frequent falls, and urinary incontinence for the past 5 months. His daughter explains that he walks oddly by scraping his feet on the ground. He has difficulty getting out of a chair without falling. He also has gotten lost several times when walking to the local coffee shop, and was unable to file his own tax return this year. His PMH is notable for hypertension that is well controlled. His vials are within normal limits. A neurological exam reveals intact muscle strength and reflexes throughout. There is no Babinkski sign. His gait is narrow based with small steps, and he takes many steps to turn directions. A mini-mental status exam score is 20/30. What is the likely diagnosis? 

Explanation: mental status changes + gait issues + urinary incontinence = normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH)

 

 

Page Updated: 03.28.3017