Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C: Voluntary stopping of eating and drinking. This is legal throughout the United States because it is considered a patient's right to refuse food and water, even if it may lead to death. This decision is based on the principle of patient autonomy and respects the patient's wishes. Euthanasia (A) involves actively causing death, which is illegal in the United States. Palliative sedation (B) is providing medication to relieve suffering, but not with the intention of hastening death. Physician-assisted death (D) involves a physician providing medication for a patient to self-administer to end their life, which is not legal in all states.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: Streptococcus pneumoniae. This bacterium is the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia in adults due to its prevalence and ability to cause infections in the lungs. It accounts for a significant portion of pneumonia cases worldwide. Staphylococcus aureus (A) is more commonly associated with healthcare-associated pneumonia. Mycoplasma pneumoniae (C) typically causes atypical pneumonia, which tends to be milder and more common in younger individuals. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (D) is more commonly seen in individuals with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems, rather than in healthy adults with community-acquired pneumonia.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: Exophthalmos. Exophthalmos refers to protrusion of the eyeball, which is a hallmark sign of thyroid eye disease. This condition commonly presents with forward bulging of one or both eyes due to inflammation and swelling of the eye muscles and tissues behind the eye. It is often associated with hyperthyroidism. A: Ptosis is drooping of the upper eyelid, not protrusion of the eyeball. C: Ectropion is an outward turning of the eyelid, not protrusion of the eyeball. D: Epicanthus is a vertical fold of skin on the upper eyelid near the nose, not protrusion of the eyeball.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: Funnel chest (pectus excavatum). Pectus excavatum is characterized by a depressed or sunken appearance of the sternum, which matches the description provided in the case. In this condition, the chest wall is abnormally shaped inward. This can be a congenital condition or develop during growth spurts in adolescence. The lack of symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, or lightheadedness on exertion is consistent with pectus excavatum, as these symptoms are not typically associated with this condition. The other choices (A: Barrel chest, C: Pigeon chest, D: Thoracic kyphoscoliosis) do not match the specific findings described in the case and are not associated with the characteristic sternal depression seen in pectus excavatum.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C: Advise them to file an advanced directive. An advanced directive is a legal document that allows individuals to specify their healthcare preferences in advance, including who they want to make medical decisions for them if they are unable to do so. In this scenario, since the patient and her partner are not married, it is important for her to have an advanced directive in place to ensure that her partner is legally recognized as the decision-maker. This documentation will help ensure her goals of care are followed in case she becomes incapacitated. Choice A (Advise them to complete a POLST) is incorrect because a POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) form is used to specify a patient's wishes for end-of-life care, not for designating a medical decision-maker. Choice B (Advise them that they have adequate documentation to be recognized legally) is incorrect because without an advanced directive, there may be legal challenges to the partner's authority to make medical decisions