A 27-Year-Old Woman Is Brought to the Emergency Department by Her

question 204

Multiple Choice

A 27-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department by her employer due to increasingly paranoid and disorganized behavior over the past year.  The patient works as a housekeeper and has had progressive difficulty performing her work responsibilities.  She has become increasingly secretive over the past 6 months and recently started talking in a whisper because she believes that listening devices are planted in the walls.  Over the past month, she started hiding food and personal possessions in closets and under beds.  The patient does not use alcohol or illicit drugs.  Vital signs are stable, and physical examination is unremarkable.  During the interview, she changes topics frequently and rambles about voices harassing her.  Which of the following additional mental status findings is most likely in this patient?

• A)Decreased facial expressiveness
• B)Euphoric mood
• C)Fluctuating level of consciousness
• D)Olfactory hallucinations
• E)Pressured speech
• F)Tactile hallucinations

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Definitions:

Communist Forces

Political groups or military units that adhere to communist ideologies, often involved in revolutionary activities or governance in various countries.

Greek Civil War

A conflict from 1946 to 1949 in Greece, fought between the Communist-led Democratic Army of Greece and the Greek government army, backed by the UK and USA.

Korean War

A conflict between North Korea, with the support of China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea, supported by the United Nations primarily the United States, from 1950 to 1953.

Pieds Noirs

A term used to describe Europeans, mostly French, who lived in Algeria before independence in 1962 and then returned to France.