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A 52-Year-Old Woman Comes to the Office Due to Abdominal

question 147

Multiple Choice

A 52-year-old woman comes to the office due to abdominal discomfort and bloating accompanied by watery diarrhea for the past 6 months. The patient has lost 9 kg (20 lb) during this period. Review of systems reveals gastroesophageal reflux symptoms and color changes in her fingers consistent with Raynaud's phenomenon, which has been present for 2 years. The patient has no other past medical history, and her only medication is over-the-counter omeprazole as needed. She drinks 2 or 3 glasses of wine on weekends and does not smoke.
Vital signs are within normal limits. BMI is 20 kg/m². There are patchy areas of skin thickening on the patient's chest, upper back, forearms, and legs. Skin over the fingers appears tight with a tapering appearance of the fingertips. Heart and lung sounds are normal. Abdominal examination shows diffuse, mild tenderness with no guarding or rebound tenderness. There is no hepatosplenomegaly, and bowel sounds are normal. Joint examination shows no abnormalities. Laboratory studies are as follows:
Stool studies are negative for pathogenic bacteria, ova, and parasites. Colonoscopy reveals scattered diverticulosis, and random biopsies reveal no abnormalities.
Which of the following would be most helpful to relieve this patient's gastrointestinal symptoms?

Definitions:

MRP

Marginal Revenue Product, which refers to the additional revenue generated from employing one more unit of a resource.

Perfectly Elastic

A situation in which the demand or supply for a good or service is infinitely responsive to changes in price.

Pure Rent

Pure Rent refers to the income earned from the use of land or other natural resources when supply is perfectly inelastic.

Fixed Supply

A situation where the quantity of a good available is constant and does not change in response to price changes.