BCPP EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What is the GAD7? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Patient self rated screener for anxiety (doesn't measure tx
response)
What are GAD7 cutoffs? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅5= mild
10= moderate
15= severe
What is the HAM A? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Clinician rated anxiety scale
Measures tx response
What are HAM A cutoffs? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Mild: 0-17
Mod: 18-24
Severe: 25-30
Remission: 70% imp
Improved: 50% imp
Partial: 25-49%
Starting dose of sertraline in elderly and children? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅12.5-25 mg
Starting dose of venlafaxine in children and elderly? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅37.5 mg
How should BZDs be discontinued? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅25% reduction per week until 50% of dose
is reached, then reduce by 1/8 every 4-7 days
Therapy > 8 weeks: 2-3 weeks
Therapy > 6 months: 4-8 weeks
Therapy > 1 year: slow taper over 2-4 months
,What is the DI between omeprazole and diazepam? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Omeprazole increases half
life and concentration of diazepam
Which SGAs can be used as augmenting agents in GAD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Olanzapine,
quetiapine, risperidone. Quetiapine XR can be used as early as 2nd line
What are first line treatments for panic disorder - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅CBT: evidence does NOT show
superiority of pharm over non-pharm
SSRI
Venlafaxine
BZD
Clomipramine, imipramine
2nd line: mirtazepine
Can consider sga augmentation or MAOI after failure of ssri, Snri, and tca
What are first line treatments for ptsd - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Trauma focused psychotherapy:
exposure based, emdr, anxiety management or cbt. Emphasized in recent guidelines.
SSRI: paroxetine, sertraline and fluoxetine have strong evidence
Venlafaxine
Consider alternative agents or augmentation after 3 failed trials: Tcas, mirtazepine, phenelzine, AEDs
NO BZDs or SGAs
What is the YBOCS? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive scale
Clinician rated
Used for diagnosis and to assess response
How is the YBOCS interpreted? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅0-7 sub clinical
8-15 mild
16-23 moderate
24-31 severe
,32-40 very severe
Response: 25%
Remission: score <8
What are first line treatments for OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅CBT or SSRI. CBT + pharmacotherapy
not better than CBT alone, but is better than pharmacotherapy alone.
2nd line: venlafaxine XR, clomipramine, mirtazepine. Clomipramine may be more effective, but less
tolerated.
Adjunctive: aripiprazole, risperidone *esp in pts with tics!
How should SSRIs be dosed in OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Dose higher than usual
At least 12 weeks needed for response
How long to continue pharmacotherapy in OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅1-2 years. Life long after 2-4
relapses.
How are SGAs used in OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Augmentation, hapiperidol or aripiprazole or
risperidone, after failing 2 antidepressants.
Clomipramine monitoring parameters and AES? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Cardiotoxic in overdose
Epilepsy- inc risk of seizures
Caution in hepatic and rental impairment
Which natural product may benefit OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅D- cycloserine
What is the difference between interval and ratio data? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Ratio has absolute 0
(values make a true ratio when divided)
What are the 2 types of continuous data? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Interval and ratio
, How is SD calculated? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Square root of variance
SD percents? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅68% lie within 1 SD
95% lie within 2 SD
99.7% lie within 3 SD
How is SEM calculated? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅SD/SQRTn
What is the difference between cohort and case-control studies? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Cohort sorts
based on exposure and looks forward in time for outcomes.
Case-control classifies based on outcome and looks back in time for exposure.
Blocked random allocation - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Used to ensure that at any given point in time, the
groups will be similar or equal in size. I.e. ABBA, BAAB, ABAB
cluster randomization - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅groups of patients are randomized rather than the
individual patients, I.e. entire hospitals or clinics are randomized to an intervention
Stratified randomization - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅individuals are grouped into strata (I.e. gender) and
then randomized to one treatment group
What is the kappa statistic and what score is satisfactory.? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅quantitative
measure of inter-rater reliability (inter-rater concordance). -1 is perfect disagreement, +1 is perfect
disagreement.
Kappa >.7 is satisfactory.
Allocation bias - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Occurs when subjects or investigators can choose which
treatment group they would like. Results in groups with different characteristics
Attrition bias - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Certain participants are more likely to drop out of the study than
others, leading to a final sample that differs from the initial
What is the GAD7? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Patient self rated screener for anxiety (doesn't measure tx
response)
What are GAD7 cutoffs? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅5= mild
10= moderate
15= severe
What is the HAM A? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Clinician rated anxiety scale
Measures tx response
What are HAM A cutoffs? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Mild: 0-17
Mod: 18-24
Severe: 25-30
Remission: 70% imp
Improved: 50% imp
Partial: 25-49%
Starting dose of sertraline in elderly and children? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅12.5-25 mg
Starting dose of venlafaxine in children and elderly? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅37.5 mg
How should BZDs be discontinued? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅25% reduction per week until 50% of dose
is reached, then reduce by 1/8 every 4-7 days
Therapy > 8 weeks: 2-3 weeks
Therapy > 6 months: 4-8 weeks
Therapy > 1 year: slow taper over 2-4 months
,What is the DI between omeprazole and diazepam? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Omeprazole increases half
life and concentration of diazepam
Which SGAs can be used as augmenting agents in GAD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Olanzapine,
quetiapine, risperidone. Quetiapine XR can be used as early as 2nd line
What are first line treatments for panic disorder - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅CBT: evidence does NOT show
superiority of pharm over non-pharm
SSRI
Venlafaxine
BZD
Clomipramine, imipramine
2nd line: mirtazepine
Can consider sga augmentation or MAOI after failure of ssri, Snri, and tca
What are first line treatments for ptsd - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Trauma focused psychotherapy:
exposure based, emdr, anxiety management or cbt. Emphasized in recent guidelines.
SSRI: paroxetine, sertraline and fluoxetine have strong evidence
Venlafaxine
Consider alternative agents or augmentation after 3 failed trials: Tcas, mirtazepine, phenelzine, AEDs
NO BZDs or SGAs
What is the YBOCS? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive scale
Clinician rated
Used for diagnosis and to assess response
How is the YBOCS interpreted? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅0-7 sub clinical
8-15 mild
16-23 moderate
24-31 severe
,32-40 very severe
Response: 25%
Remission: score <8
What are first line treatments for OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅CBT or SSRI. CBT + pharmacotherapy
not better than CBT alone, but is better than pharmacotherapy alone.
2nd line: venlafaxine XR, clomipramine, mirtazepine. Clomipramine may be more effective, but less
tolerated.
Adjunctive: aripiprazole, risperidone *esp in pts with tics!
How should SSRIs be dosed in OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Dose higher than usual
At least 12 weeks needed for response
How long to continue pharmacotherapy in OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅1-2 years. Life long after 2-4
relapses.
How are SGAs used in OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Augmentation, hapiperidol or aripiprazole or
risperidone, after failing 2 antidepressants.
Clomipramine monitoring parameters and AES? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Cardiotoxic in overdose
Epilepsy- inc risk of seizures
Caution in hepatic and rental impairment
Which natural product may benefit OCD? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅D- cycloserine
What is the difference between interval and ratio data? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Ratio has absolute 0
(values make a true ratio when divided)
What are the 2 types of continuous data? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Interval and ratio
, How is SD calculated? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Square root of variance
SD percents? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅68% lie within 1 SD
95% lie within 2 SD
99.7% lie within 3 SD
How is SEM calculated? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅SD/SQRTn
What is the difference between cohort and case-control studies? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Cohort sorts
based on exposure and looks forward in time for outcomes.
Case-control classifies based on outcome and looks back in time for exposure.
Blocked random allocation - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Used to ensure that at any given point in time, the
groups will be similar or equal in size. I.e. ABBA, BAAB, ABAB
cluster randomization - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅groups of patients are randomized rather than the
individual patients, I.e. entire hospitals or clinics are randomized to an intervention
Stratified randomization - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅individuals are grouped into strata (I.e. gender) and
then randomized to one treatment group
What is the kappa statistic and what score is satisfactory.? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅quantitative
measure of inter-rater reliability (inter-rater concordance). -1 is perfect disagreement, +1 is perfect
disagreement.
Kappa >.7 is satisfactory.
Allocation bias - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Occurs when subjects or investigators can choose which
treatment group they would like. Results in groups with different characteristics
Attrition bias - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Certain participants are more likely to drop out of the study than
others, leading to a final sample that differs from the initial
