Rheumatology: practice question

The best answer is C, Anti-double-stranded DNA antibody. The picture is systemic lupus erythematosus with renal involvement.

Anti-centromere antibodies are linked to limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis.

Anti-Jo-1 antibodies are seen in polymyositis with interstitial lung disease and the antisynthetase syndrome.

Anti-histone antibodies characterise drug-induced lupus, which spares the kidney.

It tests Rheumatology in General Medicine. Anti-dsDNA antibodies are specific for lupus, rise with disease activity and are associated with nephritis, so titres are followed along with complement levels.

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

For each disease know the classic presentation, the best test, and the first-line treatment. Then use the flashcards and the other General Medicine questions on this site to test what stuck.

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.