UW: Vitamin A and Measles? WTF

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So the question describes a kid with measles... even goes so far to say that he has measles. And asks what vitamin he should be supplemented with. I think I guessed C.

But no. Vitamin A. WTF.

I know there are studies to support this, but was anyone taught this in micro/ID? Is this kind of stuff really fair game on the real test? Or just another opportunity for UW to punch me in the junk?
 
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Nah...I learned that now, the hard way...courtesy of UW.

I have no idea if stuff like that would show up on the real test, but since i'm preparing for the worst possible scenario I wrote it into my first aid. I'm not forgetting THAT one. At least when you get it wrong it sticks.
 
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Hurricane95 said:
Nah...I learned that now, the hard way...courtesy of UW.

I have no idea if stuff like that would show up on the real test, but since i'm preparing for the worst possible scenario I wrote it into my first aid. I'm not forgetting THAT one. At least when you get it wrong it sticks.
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Yeah... I did the same thing. I think I wrote it in there twice. Bastards :laugh:
 
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-Goose- said:
So the question describes a kid with measles... even goes so far to say that he has measles. And asks what vitamin he should be supplemented with. I think I guessed C.

But no. Vitamin A. WTF.

I know there are studies to support this, but was anyone taught this in micro/ID? Is this kind of stuff really fair game on the real test? Or just another opportunity for UW to punch me in the junk?
Click to expand...

I just noted it in FA and went to the next thing.

We didn't even cover mumps in ID. I guess because it's an "eradicated disease." And probably why I suck at bugs and drugs.

Some people say they do it to us to make us stay in St. Louis so they'll have residents.
 
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It was actually mentioned in our Micro course. I didn't bother learning why it works, I just remembered the association.
 
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There are a lot of ******ed questions like this on UW. The chance of actually getting something related to this on the boards has to be like 1 in 10000000
 
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Hurricane95 said:
Nah...I learned that now, the hard way...courtesy of UW.

I have no idea if stuff like that would show up on the real test, but since i'm preparing for the worst possible scenario I wrote it into my first aid. I'm not forgetting THAT one. At least when you get it wrong it sticks.
Click to expand...

We actually learned that in Derm, and although I couldn't remember whether it was A or C I figured A is used for derm conditions more often :laugh:
 
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surebreC said:
There are a lot of ******ed questions like this on UW. The chance of actually getting something related to this on the boards has to be like 1 in 10000000
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And that's based on your extensive experience practicing medicine and writing for the boards?

FWIW, we had a string of measles when I did pediatrics and vitamin A was given to the patient and always mentioned on rounds.
 
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beastmaster said:
And that's based on your extensive experience practicing medicine and writing for the boards?

FWIW, we had a string of measles when I did pediatrics and vitamin A was given to the patient and always mentioned on rounds.
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Thats from my extensive experience fo studying for and taking the boards🙄 The point is that there are countless factoids like this which you can either A) freak out over or B) look at and say "oh thats interesting" and move on with the knowledge that if it's not in FA or Goljan it is highly unlikely to show up on a board exam. There will probably be some weird questions like this on the exam (for instance I had one on capitation) I think a lot of this are impossible to prepare for.
 
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beastmaster said:
And that's based on your extensive experience practicing medicine and writing for the boards?

FWIW, we had a string of measles when I did pediatrics and vitamin A was given to the patient and always mentioned on rounds.
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I don't doubt that it is used in medicine, but c'mon, this crap shouldn't be fair game. Not in any major review book... Its not even in the Robbins' ID chapter blurb on Measles.

I agree that its best not to worry about this crap, but good lord it sucks.
 
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Vit. A is the treatment of AML .. wtf?? lol.

treatment of aml-m3 can release the auerrods leading to DIC..

Vit. A can ... cause DIC.. wtf?

as goljan would say... "now you know.. now you know.. arent u glad you took the kaplan course?" lol.
 
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Keg said:
I just noted it in FA and went to the next thing.

We didn't even cover mumps in ID. I guess because it's an "eradicated disease." And probably why I suck at bugs and drugs.

Some people say they do it to us to make us stay in St. Louis so they'll have residents.
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To said that mumps was not covered is like saying that nobody will develop orchitis after mumps.
 
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Lany said:
Vit. A is the treatment of AML .. wtf?? lol.

treatment of aml-m3 can release the auerrods leading to DIC..

Vit. A can ... cause DIC.. wtf?

as goljan would say... "now you know.. now you know.. arent u glad you took the kaplan course?" lol.
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I think the use of all trans retinoic acid for acute promyelocytic leukemia is imporant - at least according to my heme profs. That's the one that has to be id'ed on day one and treated, or it can kill the patient... and the treatment is so easy.
 
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chapaquito said:
To said that mumps was not covered is like saying that nobody will develop orchitis after mumps.
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I ain't know. Wash U is funky when it comes to pre-clinical stuff - we get 3 hours on VWD (and are expected to know the differences between the type 2 subtypes), but nothing on measles or mumps, and the only thing on rubella is on congenital defects it causes. Not to mention all the drugs I've never heard of that are in FA.
 
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surebreC said:
Thats from my extensive experience fo studying for and taking the boards🙄 The point is that there are countless factoids like this which you can either A) freak out over or B) look at and say "oh thats interesting" and move on with the knowledge that if it's not in FA or Goljan it is highly unlikely to show up on a board exam. There will probably be some weird questions like this on the exam (for instance I had one on capitation) I think a lot of this are impossible to prepare for.
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Huh? Why bother using UW at all, then? Just read FA, listen to Goljan and off you go.

FWIW, I had about 10-15 questions that were "******ed"🙄 like that on my real exam.
 
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Keg said:
I ain't know. Wash U is funky when it comes to pre-clinical stuff - we get 3 hours on VWD (and are expected to know the differences between the type 2 subtypes), but nothing on measles or mumps, and the only thing on rubella is on congenital defects it causes. Not to mention all the drugs I've never heard of that are in FA.
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Makes sense as you're likely to see more patients with vWD than measles mumps and rubella combined.
 
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marthpodi said:
Makes sense as you're likely to see more patients with vWD than measles mumps and rubella combined.
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Yea... that's all great for clinic. When I get eleventy-threeve questions on boards on mumps pathophys, though, I'm just going to hope that FA + CMMRS carry me through.
 
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It's mentioned in Levinson's Micro/immuno book. Supposedly, the dz is worse in developing countries where children are malnourished, and suggests that Vit A can help reduce the severity of symptoms.
 
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BabyPsychDoc said:
Huh? Why bother using UW at all, then? Just read FA, listen to Goljan and off you go.

FWIW, I had about 10-15 questions that were "******ed"🙄 like that on my real exam.
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I think the most important thing about UW is that it makes you look at things you thought you knew in an entirely different way - much the way the actual exam does. You pick up factoids like this along the way, but the fact that they are so random makes this exact question highly unlikely to show up on your exam.

And if you looked at my response, I said that yes, there are questions like this on the exam - the point is that most of them aren't things you can really study for. A lot of the weird, random factoids like this were stuff I had somehow retained from first or second year - and a few actually required me to think back to ugrad. So again, my point is that when you get one of these questions, read the answer and think about it but I certainly wouldn't put it into my stack of last minute review, high yield factoids.
 
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can't wait for this question to come up on someone's test. and BHAM! it was an awesome question.
 
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surebreC said:
...And if you looked at my response, I said that yes, there are questions like this on the exam - the point is that most of them aren't things you can really study for...
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I agree. There's a law of diminishing returns with anything, and here it's with these sorts of trivia. Once you get beyond the fundamental concepts, you'd have to study progressively more and more to pick up that odd question or two.

I'd rather study the content that I think will be on 70-80% of the exam, know it well, and let my guessing skills do the rest.

LUBDUBB said:
It's mentioned in Levinson's Micro/immuno book. Supposedly, the dz is worse in developing countries where children are malnourished, and suggests that Vit A can help reduce the severity of symptoms.
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Low/no Vit A = low-functioning immune system. Measles attacks the immune system (I might be wrong, our Micro course wasn't too hot either). Giving Vit A = reduce effects of measles and the likelihood of subsequent infections

Makes sense. 👍
 
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RxnMan said:
Not if the anti-vaccinationists get their way.

And before you tell me there's nodody that stupid, there's a whole colony of them in my town!
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But... but... but... vaccines cause autism! Even those without mercury-based preservatives! It's not the genes' fault - it's the evil gub-ment looking to put the common folk down.

One of our lecturers did say, however, that folate supplementation has been linked to higher rates of autism... so I guess you get to pick NTD or Rainman.
 
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-Goose- said:
I know there are studies to support this, but was anyone taught this in micro/ID? Is this kind of stuff really fair game on the real test?
Click to expand...

We definitely learned this in micro. The mechanism wasn't really emphasized, but I still remember it for some reason.
 
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RxnMan said:
Of course they cause autism! There's no such thing as substitution error!
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And correlation = causation... not just chance you get most of your vaccines around when social deficits become more evident.
 
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-Goose- said:
So the question describes a kid with measles... even goes so far to say that he has measles. And asks what vitamin he should be supplemented with. I think I guessed C.

But no. Vitamin A. WTF.

I know there are studies to support this, but was anyone taught this in micro/ID? Is this kind of stuff really fair game on the real test? Or just another opportunity for UW to punch me in the junk?
Click to expand...

Goljan mentioned it in his nutrition lecture. And as he says "Everything I say is high yield!".
 
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Just ran across a UW question on Beriberi and one of the wrong answer explanations says that Vit A deficiency "increases vulnerability to infection (especially measles)."


:boom:
 
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Yeah, missed that question, already forgot about it. Some facts have nothing to hold onto in my brain, so they just go in and fall out right away. I'm not going to retain everything, so I'm trying not to stress about what I don't remember.
 
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Clin Pharm. 1993 Jul;12(7):506-14.
Vitamin A as an immunomodulating agent.
Rumore MM1.
Author information

Abstract
Findings on the benefits and mechanism of action of vitamin A in measles and other infectious diseases and immunocompromised states are discussed. Vitamin A deficiency is one of the world's major malnutrition problems and is most commonly found in children under the age of five years. An association between vitamin A status and immune function has been suggested by community studies and animal experiments. Mortality and susceptibility to infection and diarrhea are higher in children with vitamin A deficiency. The association between increased mortality and morbidity and vitamin A deficiency is strongest in children with measles. Vitamin A supplementation reduces mortality and complications resulting from measles. Measles may increase the body's utilization of vitamin A, possibly because of the rapid destruction of epithelial surfaces. Vitamin A may boost immune responses in the elderly, persons with high exposure to ultraviolet light, patients who have undergone surgery, and persons with parasitic infection, but more studies are needed. The immune defect caused by vitamin A deficiency may be due to alterations in the glycoproteins of the lymphocyte membrane, an adverse effect on helper T-cell function, the effect on epithelial tissue, or some other mechanism. Vitamin A therapy is relatively safe, and its effectiveness in children with measles and possibly other groups appears to justify public health campaigns to eliminate vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A apparently has important immunomodulating properties, notably in patients with measles.
 
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It's not a random fact, Vitamin A is used for accelerating maturation of cells. That's why it is used in measles. It's a World Q x 2.
 
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