NBME CBSE case studies
NBME CBSE · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The NBME Comprehensive Basic Science Exam (CBSE) is a multiple-choice subject examination drawn from NBME's basic science item pool and administered through medical schools, most often to students in the preclinical years. It is an educational instrument rather than a licensing decision: it gives students and their schools a standardized, externally benchmarked picture of how well the foundational sciences - the organ systems plus the general principles that cut across them - have been consolidated before clinical training begins. The NBME CBSE case studies are 5 cases and about 3,471 words.
1Tearing Chest Pain with an Inferior STEMI Pattern on ECG
A 62-year-old man with a 20-year history of poorly controlled hypertension presents 90 minutes after the sudden onset of severe, tearing anterior chest pain that radiated between his shoulder blades. He is diaphoretic and anxious.
679 words, about 3 min2A Rapid Influenza Assay Moves from the Emergency Department to Employee Screening
A hospital laboratory develops a rapid antigen assay for influenza. In a prospective study, 400 adults who present to the emergency department with fever and cough are tested with the new assay and with RT-PCR as the reference standard.
613 words, about 3 min3Hyperglycemic Crisis in an Older Adult on a Sulfonylurea
A 68-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes treated with glimepiride is brought in by her daughter after 5 days of vomiting and poor oral intake during a respiratory illness. She is drowsy but arousable and answers questions slowly.
714 words, about 4 min4Stage 4 CKD, Hyperkalemia, and a Medication List That Needs Editing
A 55-year-old man with diabetic kidney disease returns for follow-up. His eGFR is 22 mL/min/1.73 m², down from 30 one year ago, and his urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio is 1,200 mg/g.
736 words, about 4 min5Wake-Up Stroke with a Dense Deficit and an Unclear Onset Time
A 74-year-old woman with atrial fibrillation, not on anticoagulation, is found at 7:00 a.m. by her husband unable to speak and with dense right-sided weakness.
729 words, about 4 min