ATI RN
Pediatric Neurology Test Questions Questions
Question 1 of 5
Reversible gallbladder pseudolithiasis, detectable by abdominal ultrasonography during treatment of bacterial meningitis is usually caused by
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Ceftriaxone causreversible gallbladder pseudolithiasis via biliary precipitation, per case reports. Ceftazidime , cefotaxime , meropenem , and chloramphenicol lack this effect. Ceftriaxonunique side effect makes C the correct answer.
Question 2 of 5
The following are hematologic causof childhood pseudotumor cerebri EXCEPT
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Pseudotumor cerebri links to hematologic issulike Wiskott-Aldrich , megaloblastic anemia , polycythemia , and sickle cell via thrombosis or viscosity. Fanconi anemia causmarrow failure, not ICP. This mechanistic gap makes D the exception and correct answer.
Question 3 of 5
A 3-year-old female has a 2-week history of fever, bifrontal headache, lethargy, and vomiting. She has perioral cyanosis and dyspnea since infancy. She has a 10-minute focal tonic-clonic seizure. She is obtunded, temperature 100.8°F, pulse 118, BP 96/70 mm Hg. Perioral cyanosis is noted at rest, with a harsh pansystolic murmur along the left sternal border. Bilateral papilledema and right-sided weakness with hyperreflexia and extensor plantar reflex are present. The most likely cause of hemiparesis is
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: A brain abscess best explains this scenario. The childs congenital heart defect (likely tetralogy of Fallot, given cyanosis and murmur) predisposto paradoxical emboli, seeding a brain abscess. Fever, headache, lethargy, vomiting, and focal seizure over 2 weeks, plus papilledema and focal neurologic signs (hemiparesis, hyperreflexia, Babinski), suggest an intracranial mass with infection. Abscessare common in cyanotic heart disease due to right-to-left shunting. Moyamoya causischemia, not fever or papilledema acutely. Brain tumor grows slowly, lacking fever. Intracranial hemorrhage is acute, not subacute with infection signs. Methemoglobinemia (original D) causcyanosis but not focal neurology or abscess. Abscesss fit with infection, mass effect, and cardiac history makes D the correct answer.
Question 4 of 5
All of the following cause neonatal seizurEXCEPT
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Neonatal seizurstem from pyridoxine deficiency , causing refractory epilepsy; lissencephaly , a malformation with epileptogenic cortex; hypoglycemia , lowering seizure threshold; and hypoxia-ischemia (D in original). Spina bifida , a spinal defect, rarely causseizurunless complicated by meningitis or severe hydrocephalus, which isnt typical neonatally. Incontinentia pigmentosa also links to seizurvia brain lesions. Spina bifidas primary spinal focus, lacking direct cortical irritability, makes D the exception and correct answer, per neonatal seizure etiology.
Question 5 of 5
The average time of closure of the anterior fontanel is
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The anterior fontanel closat 18 months on average, per pediatric norms (e.g., Nelson Textbook). It rangfrom 9-24 months, but 18 months is the mean, reflecting cranial suture fusion. Earlier closure (A-C, 12-16 months) occurs in some, while 22 months is late. This milestone tracks brain growth; premature closure may signal craniosynostosis. Longitudinal data confirm 18 months as typical, making D the correct answer, balancing variability and standard development.