Emergency Medicine Question Banks

Critical Care Medicine

Elevate your critical care skills in the ED, ICU, and OR with 250 expert-authored questions, aligned with ABIM, ABA, and ABS guidelines for optimal performance and success.

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Questions

Just like the actual exam

Aligned with the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Anesthesiologists, and the American Board of Surgery formats. Authored & peer-reviewed by faculty, clinicians, and program directors.

Each question is written to resemble the format and topics on the exam, meaning you won’t see any negatively phrased questions, no “all of the following except,” no “A and B”…you know what we mean. Most importantly, all questions include selective distractors (incorrect answer choices), which will help you think critically.

Must address important content
Must be well structured

Question

A 58-year-old man with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cirrhosis with a Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score of 28 presents to the emergency department after several episodes of large-volume hematemesis. He has altered mental status, tachycardia, and hypotension. The team proceeds with intubation, and the initial endoscopic intervention is aborted due to profuse bleeding at the gastric fundus. A Sengstaken-Blakemore tube is placed to tamponade the bleeding. Chest X-ray images taken 4 hours apart are shown above (A and B). What is the most likely explanation for the findings in image B?

A The patient aspirated during emesis

B The Sengstaken-Blakemore tube was inserted into lung

C The Sengstaken-Blakemore tube was overinflated in the stomach

D There was an esophageal rupture

Correct Answer Distractors

A Sengstaken-Blakemore (SB) tube is a two-balloon device that provides tamponade to esophageal and gastric bleeding through direct compression. It is used as a temporary life-saving intervention in cases of massive bleeding unresponsive to initial medical and endoscopic treatment. The SB tube is inserted in the stomach, with auscultation used to verify initial placement before partial gastric balloon inflation with 50 mL of air. A chest X-ray is used to confirm the gastric balloon position in the stomach before full inflation of the balloon with an additional 200 mL of air. The esophageal balloon is then inflated to 30 mm Hg with a manometer connected to the esophageal port. If bleeding persists, the pressure can be increased to a maximum of 45 mm Hg. Balloon inflation should be used transiently (for a minimum of 4 hours and never longer than 24 hours) because of the high rate of complications, including esophageal perforation, mucosal necrosis, and airway obstruction. Image B shows a lucency overlying the left chest consistent with an SB balloon in the chest, which suggests a rupture of the esophagus by a gastric balloon inflated in the esophagus, an overinflated esophageal balloon, or one that was kept in place longer than necessary.

Explanations

Written with a purpose

Understanding why an answer choice is incorrect is just as important as knowing why one is correct. That’s why every Inceptestbank question includes detailed explanations for the correct and incorrect answer choices. These comprehensive summaries link the most important components of a topic—from risk factors to diagnostics and treatment—giving you the context to build relationships between them.

Created for optimal learning and recall
Help reinforce your knowledge
Focus on the essential information

Illustrations

Created to enhance learning

Custom illustrations and tables help further clarify the core concepts. When information is presented visually, you can focus on meaning, easily reorganize and group similar ideas, and make better use of your memory.

Powerful Analytics

Track progress, performance, & predictions

Your personal analytics allow you to see your progress at all times, so you can create an efficient and effective learning strategy and stay on pace with your plan.

Focus your learning

Deep insights to determine your strengths and weaknesses so you can spend your time on the subjects that matter

Compare with your peers

Discover how your answer choices align with those selected by learners across the country.

Find out your probability of passing

Using data generated by previous users, your Qbank gives a prediction of how likely you are to pass your exam.

One Step Further

Taking your learning to the next level

After each explanation is a straightforward question with a simple, memorizable answer that reinforces the corresponding topic.

Strengthens your knowledge
Stands alone from the main explanation so you’re not rereading content

Question

How successful is the Sengstaken-Blakemore tube at controlling severe gastroesophageal bleeding?

Reveal Answer

Esophageal Varices

Caused by portal hypertension, history of chronic liver disease or alcohol use
Associated with massive UGIB
Diagnosis is made by upper endoscopy: dilated submucosal esophageal or gastric veins
Treatment: hemodynamic support, endoscopy with banding, octreotide, prophylactic ceftriaxone, balloon tamponade for temporary hemostasis
Prophylaxis: nonselective beta-blockers (nadolol, propranolol), endoscopic ligation, TIPS for select patients

Rapid Review

Keeping things simple

These bulleted reviews focus on condensed, high-yield concepts about the main topic, from patient presentation to preferred management.

Cover the fundamentals in one list
Allow you to quickly scan the must-know information

FAQs

Get a little more clarification

How do I earn CME with Inceptestbank?

If you sign up for an account that is linked to CME, here’s what you need to do:

Complete either all the questions or 1,000 questions in your Qbank (depending on your package)

Once that’s complete, here’s how to claim and download your certificate:

Go to the Account Settings tab (only on desktop/laptop)
Select Claim next to the subscription package name (see an example)
Complete the survey
Download your certificate

You’ll earn up to 100 AMA PRA Cat 1 CME credits.

What forms of payment do you accept?: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and gold bars (just kidding–please don’t try this. It sounds heavy.)

What is the pass guarantee?: We believe in you, and if you use Inceptestbank, we're confident you will pass your board exam.

If you complete 100% of the questions in your package and don't pass, you will be refunded the full amount of your subscription costs. Guaranteed. Your score report with your name and numerical score must be emailed Inceptestbank at refund@IncepTestBank.com within 60 days of the score report being published.

If you haven't completed all the questions or if you want to prepare to retake your exam, your subscription can be extended through the next exam date free of charge.

How do I get started?: Whether you have a trial account or you purchased a subscription, access Inceptestbank by logging in at app.IncepTestBank.com. To access the Qbank, go to the Create Exam tab to begin making and taking exams made up of questions from the Qbank. You can find any boost exams under the My Exams → Boost Exam tab. Once you've completed and submitted a few exams, you can see your statistics under the Performance Analysis tab.

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Behind the Qbank

Marina Boushra, MD

Marina Boushra is an emergency medicine physician and intensivist at the Cleveland Clinic. Her academic interests include the care of pregnant and peripartum patients, toxicologic emergencies, and ED-ICU transitions. She is passionate about medical education and especially the evolution of emergency medicine-trained critical care physicians. Outside the hospital, she enjoys traveling, being overly competitive at games, and binge-watching television with her husband, Michael, and their steadily growing number of allergy-inducing cats.

Fahad Alroumi, MD

Fahad Alroumi grew up in Kuwait and went to medical school at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He completed his residency and fellowship at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, MA. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, and Critical Care Medicine. Fahad is passionate about medical education and has recently graduated from the Master of Education in the Health Professions program at Johns Hopkins University. He has practiced medicine in academic and community settings in both rural and urban medical facilities. He loves learning about cultures through food and is a Duolingo aficionado!

Emergency Medicine Question Banks

Critical Care Medicine

Questions

Just like the actual exam

Question

Explanations

Written with a purpose

Illustrations

Created to enhance learning

Powerful Analytics

Track progress, performance, & predictions

One Step Further

Taking your learning to the next level

Question

Rapid Review

Keeping things simple

FAQs

Get a little more clarification

Behind the Qbank

Marina Boushra, MD

Fahad Alroumi, MD

Get Started Today for Free!

100% Pass Guarantee