APEA 3P Exam Prep- Sexual
Health Questions with Correct
Answers and Explanations
A patient being treated for trichomoniasis receives a prescription for metronidazole.
What instructions should she be given?
Take this medication with food
Do not take this medication if you are pregnant
Take this medication on an empty stomach
Alcohol should be avoided when taking this medication
D.
Metronidazole may be associated with a disulfiram reaction when mixed with
alcohol. Advice that should be given to all patients who take metronidazole is to
avoid alcohol entirely while this medication is being taken. Additionally, alcohol
should be avoided for 24 hours after the last dose of medication. The disulfiram
reaction is characterized by fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and
headache. This reaction is called the “Antabuse” reaction.
The risk of HIV transmission is increased:
when other STDs are present.
in females.
when patients are aware of their HIV status.
in patients with diabetes.
A.
There are several risk factors for HIV transmission. Viral load is likely the greatest
risk factor. The presence of STDs increases the risk of HIV transmission. Specifically,
the presence of chlamydia increases the risk of acquiring HIV by 5 times. Lack of
circumcision increases the risk of transmission.
A patient requests screening for HIV after a sexual exposure. What are CDC’s
recommendations for screening for this patient?
, There are no recommendations for screening.
She should be screened today, with repeat screening at 4-6 weeks, and 3 months.
She should be rescreened in 6-12 months
She only requires screening if she develops symptoms of HIV
B.
She does require further screening because a negative initial result does not insure
that she is not infected. This signifies that she has not seroconverted at this time.
The period within 3 months after exposure is termed the “window period” and a
negative screen must be confirmed. If a 4th generation assay is used and the
screen is negative 3 months after the last exposure, and there is no concern for
coinfection with hepatitis C at the time of HIV exposure, she is considered to be
negative. HIV screening should be performed in any patient who develops
symptoms consistent with HIV after an exposure.
A 24-year-old female presents with abdominal pain. What additional finding
supports a diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)?
Dysuria
Vaginal discharge
Positive RPR
Cervical motion tenderness
D.
PID is difficult to diagnose and often goes unrecognized because of the varied
presenting signs and symptoms in women who have it. Delay in diagnosis
contributes to inflammatory sequelae in the upper reproductive tract. Consequently,
PID is usually diagnosed on imprecise clinical findings. The CDC recommends that
healthcare providers maintain a low threshold for diagnosis of PID. Presumptive
treatment should be initiated in sexually active women if they are experiencing
pelvic or low abdominal pain (without another identifiable source of illness), and if
one or more of the following criteria are present on pelvic exam: cervical motion
tenderness, uterine tenderness, or adnexal tenderness.
A male patient presents with dysuria and penile discharge. He states that his female
partner has an STD, but he is not sure which one. Which of these should be part of
the differential?
Bacterial vaginosis and trichomonas
Chlamydia and gonorrhea
Health Questions with Correct
Answers and Explanations
A patient being treated for trichomoniasis receives a prescription for metronidazole.
What instructions should she be given?
Take this medication with food
Do not take this medication if you are pregnant
Take this medication on an empty stomach
Alcohol should be avoided when taking this medication
D.
Metronidazole may be associated with a disulfiram reaction when mixed with
alcohol. Advice that should be given to all patients who take metronidazole is to
avoid alcohol entirely while this medication is being taken. Additionally, alcohol
should be avoided for 24 hours after the last dose of medication. The disulfiram
reaction is characterized by fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and
headache. This reaction is called the “Antabuse” reaction.
The risk of HIV transmission is increased:
when other STDs are present.
in females.
when patients are aware of their HIV status.
in patients with diabetes.
A.
There are several risk factors for HIV transmission. Viral load is likely the greatest
risk factor. The presence of STDs increases the risk of HIV transmission. Specifically,
the presence of chlamydia increases the risk of acquiring HIV by 5 times. Lack of
circumcision increases the risk of transmission.
A patient requests screening for HIV after a sexual exposure. What are CDC’s
recommendations for screening for this patient?
, There are no recommendations for screening.
She should be screened today, with repeat screening at 4-6 weeks, and 3 months.
She should be rescreened in 6-12 months
She only requires screening if she develops symptoms of HIV
B.
She does require further screening because a negative initial result does not insure
that she is not infected. This signifies that she has not seroconverted at this time.
The period within 3 months after exposure is termed the “window period” and a
negative screen must be confirmed. If a 4th generation assay is used and the
screen is negative 3 months after the last exposure, and there is no concern for
coinfection with hepatitis C at the time of HIV exposure, she is considered to be
negative. HIV screening should be performed in any patient who develops
symptoms consistent with HIV after an exposure.
A 24-year-old female presents with abdominal pain. What additional finding
supports a diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)?
Dysuria
Vaginal discharge
Positive RPR
Cervical motion tenderness
D.
PID is difficult to diagnose and often goes unrecognized because of the varied
presenting signs and symptoms in women who have it. Delay in diagnosis
contributes to inflammatory sequelae in the upper reproductive tract. Consequently,
PID is usually diagnosed on imprecise clinical findings. The CDC recommends that
healthcare providers maintain a low threshold for diagnosis of PID. Presumptive
treatment should be initiated in sexually active women if they are experiencing
pelvic or low abdominal pain (without another identifiable source of illness), and if
one or more of the following criteria are present on pelvic exam: cervical motion
tenderness, uterine tenderness, or adnexal tenderness.
A male patient presents with dysuria and penile discharge. He states that his female
partner has an STD, but he is not sure which one. Which of these should be part of
the differential?
Bacterial vaginosis and trichomonas
Chlamydia and gonorrhea
