Scenario
A 34 year old woman presents to your emergency department with a history of abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea for two weeks. Examination reveals dehydration and generalised abdominal tenderness.
His observations are:
Arterial blood gas and biochemical results are shown.
Question
Describe and interpret her results. (100%)
Answer
FACEM VAQ Exam 2005.2 – Question 1
- The overall pass rate for this question was 47/56 (83.9%).
- Examiners expected that candidates would correctly interpret this as normal anion gap metabolic acidosis which could be due to GI or renal causes given the scenario presented.
- Reasons for failing answers included omission of renal failure in the interpretation, stating that the hypokalaemia was due to acidosis and misinterpreting the anion gap.
ACEM Fellowship Visual Aid Questions
FACEM VAQ
About Mike Cadogan
