ABPS Internal Medicine case studies
ABPS Internal Medicine · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The ABPS Internal Medicine board certification examination is a single-best-answer, multiple-choice assessment intended for physicians who have completed an internal medicine residency and who wish to demonstrate mastery of adult medicine through the American Board of Physician Specialties pathway rather than through the larger, more familiar internal medicine board. It is aimed at general internists in hospital, outpatient, and multispecialty practice, and at physicians who hold or are seeking hospital privileges and payer credentialing that recognize board certification. The ABPS Internal Medicine case studies are 5 cases and about 3,403 words.
1Breathing Harder, Adding Less: Sequencing Therapy in HFrEF with Borderline Potassium
68-year-old man with ischemic cardiomyopathy (LVEF 30% on echocardiography 4 months ago) attends follow-up. He reports dyspnea after two blocks but no resting symptoms.
664 words, about 3 min2A COPD Exacerbation on the Ward: Oxygen, Drugs, and the Decision to Escalate
74-year-old woman with COPD (FEV1 42% predicted, two exacerbations in the past year, 45 pack-year smoking history) presents with 3 days of increasing dyspnea, greater sputum volume, and sputum that has become purulent. Home medications are tiotropium/olodaterol and as-needed albuterol; she uses no home oxygen.
667 words, about 3 min3Sodium 116 After a New Thiazide: Speed, Cause, and the Correction Trap
74-year-old woman presents with 2 days of nausea, headache, and confusion. Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg daily was started 3 weeks ago for hypertension; her other medications are amlodipine and atorvastatin.
674 words, about 3 min4A1c 9.3% with CKD and Prior MI: What to Change First and What to Stop
58-year-old man with type 2 diabetes for 9 years attends for worsening control. He had an anterior myocardial infarction in 2021 and has stage 3b chronic kidney disease (eGFR 42 mL/min/1.73 m², urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio 380 mg/g).
699 words, about 3 min5Falls, Frailty, and a Blood Thinner: Deprescribing Without Abandoning Benefit
84-year-old woman with hypertension, mild cognitive impairment, and atrial fibrillation has had three falls in the past six months. She lives alone with a walker.
699 words, about 3 min