PAEA EOC Exam Guide 2026: High-Yield
Q&A with Detailed Explanations for
Physician Assistant Students
Description:
Master your PAEA End of Curriculum (EOC) exam with this targeted 2026 study guide. This
resource is packed with 50 unique, scenario-based questions mirroring the actual exam's
format, covering high-stakes topics like cardiology, pulmonology, GI, and infectious disease.
Each question includes a clear bolded answer and a concise explanation to solidify your
clinical reasoning, ensuring you understand the "why" behind every concept. Updated to the
latest guidelines, this guide eliminates outdated information and focuses on what you truly need
to know to pass.
Stop searching and start mastering—download your ultimate EOC review tool now and walk into
your exam with confidence!
, PAEA EOC Exam Guide 2026: Study Questions & Answers for
Physician Assistant Students
1. A 32-year-old individual with a significant smoking history presents with ischemic ulcers
on the fingers and rest pain. Which pathophysiological process is most characteristic of this
condition?
a) Atherosclerotic plaque rupture
b) Immune complex deposition in vessel walls
c) Inflammatory thrombus formation in small and medium vessels
d) Vasospasm without structural vessel changes
Answer: C
Explanation: The clinical picture is suggestive of thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger's disease).
This condition is defined by segmental, inflammatory thrombotic occlusions of small and
medium-sized arteries and veins. Histology often shows polymorphonuclear leukocytes,
microabscesses, and multinucleated giant cells within the thrombus, distinct from
atherosclerosis.
2. What is the single most critical intervention to halt the progression of thromboangiitis
obliterans?
Answer: Complete and permanent smoking cessation.
Explanation: Continued tobacco use is directly linked to disease progression and amputation.
All other treatments, such as vasodilators like cilostazol or calcium channel blockers for
concomitant Raynaud's phenomenon, are secondary to the absolute requirement of stopping all
forms of tobacco.
3. For a patient with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), which
medication class has consistently demonstrated a mortality benefit in major clinical trials?
a) Loop diuretics
b) Beta-blockers
c) Calcium channel blockers
d) Nitrates
, Answer: B
Explanation: While ACE inhibitors are also a cornerstone of therapy, beta-blockers (specifically
bisoprolol, carvedilol, and metoprolol succinate) have robust evidence from clinical trials
showing a significant reduction in both morbidity and mortality in HFrEF. Diuretics improve
symptoms but do not confer a mortality benefit.
4. A patient arrives at the Emergency Department with an ST-elevation myocardial
infarction (STEMI). The cardiac catheterization lab is unavailable for the next 150
minutes. What is the most appropriate immediate reperfusion strategy?
Answer: Administration of fibrinolytic therapy.
Explanation: Current guidelines recommend primary PCI as the preferred reperfusion strategy if
it can be performed within 120 minutes of first medical contact. If this timeline cannot be met,
fibrinolytic therapy should be initiated promptly, provided there are no contraindications. PCI
can then be performed as a pharmaco-invasive strategy after fibrinolysis.
5. A patient with atrial fibrillation presents with a cold, painful, and pale right lower
extremity. Which imaging modality is most definitive for diagnosing an acute arterial
embolus and planning intervention?
Answer: Catheter-based digital subtraction arteriography.
Explanation: This modality provides high-resolution, real-time imaging of the arterial tree,
precisely locating the embolic occlusion and distinguishing it from in-situ thrombosis. It also
offers the potential for concurrent therapeutic intervention, such as embolectomy or thrombolytic
administration.
6. Which location is the most common site for a peripheral arterial embolus to lodge?
a) Brachial artery
b) Common femoral artery bifurcation
c) Aortic bifurcation
d) Tibial arteries
Answer: B
Explanation: Arterial emboli most frequently obstruct bifurcation points where the vessel
diameter suddenly changes. The common femoral artery bifurcation is a classic location,
Q&A with Detailed Explanations for
Physician Assistant Students
Description:
Master your PAEA End of Curriculum (EOC) exam with this targeted 2026 study guide. This
resource is packed with 50 unique, scenario-based questions mirroring the actual exam's
format, covering high-stakes topics like cardiology, pulmonology, GI, and infectious disease.
Each question includes a clear bolded answer and a concise explanation to solidify your
clinical reasoning, ensuring you understand the "why" behind every concept. Updated to the
latest guidelines, this guide eliminates outdated information and focuses on what you truly need
to know to pass.
Stop searching and start mastering—download your ultimate EOC review tool now and walk into
your exam with confidence!
, PAEA EOC Exam Guide 2026: Study Questions & Answers for
Physician Assistant Students
1. A 32-year-old individual with a significant smoking history presents with ischemic ulcers
on the fingers and rest pain. Which pathophysiological process is most characteristic of this
condition?
a) Atherosclerotic plaque rupture
b) Immune complex deposition in vessel walls
c) Inflammatory thrombus formation in small and medium vessels
d) Vasospasm without structural vessel changes
Answer: C
Explanation: The clinical picture is suggestive of thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger's disease).
This condition is defined by segmental, inflammatory thrombotic occlusions of small and
medium-sized arteries and veins. Histology often shows polymorphonuclear leukocytes,
microabscesses, and multinucleated giant cells within the thrombus, distinct from
atherosclerosis.
2. What is the single most critical intervention to halt the progression of thromboangiitis
obliterans?
Answer: Complete and permanent smoking cessation.
Explanation: Continued tobacco use is directly linked to disease progression and amputation.
All other treatments, such as vasodilators like cilostazol or calcium channel blockers for
concomitant Raynaud's phenomenon, are secondary to the absolute requirement of stopping all
forms of tobacco.
3. For a patient with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), which
medication class has consistently demonstrated a mortality benefit in major clinical trials?
a) Loop diuretics
b) Beta-blockers
c) Calcium channel blockers
d) Nitrates
, Answer: B
Explanation: While ACE inhibitors are also a cornerstone of therapy, beta-blockers (specifically
bisoprolol, carvedilol, and metoprolol succinate) have robust evidence from clinical trials
showing a significant reduction in both morbidity and mortality in HFrEF. Diuretics improve
symptoms but do not confer a mortality benefit.
4. A patient arrives at the Emergency Department with an ST-elevation myocardial
infarction (STEMI). The cardiac catheterization lab is unavailable for the next 150
minutes. What is the most appropriate immediate reperfusion strategy?
Answer: Administration of fibrinolytic therapy.
Explanation: Current guidelines recommend primary PCI as the preferred reperfusion strategy if
it can be performed within 120 minutes of first medical contact. If this timeline cannot be met,
fibrinolytic therapy should be initiated promptly, provided there are no contraindications. PCI
can then be performed as a pharmaco-invasive strategy after fibrinolysis.
5. A patient with atrial fibrillation presents with a cold, painful, and pale right lower
extremity. Which imaging modality is most definitive for diagnosing an acute arterial
embolus and planning intervention?
Answer: Catheter-based digital subtraction arteriography.
Explanation: This modality provides high-resolution, real-time imaging of the arterial tree,
precisely locating the embolic occlusion and distinguishing it from in-situ thrombosis. It also
offers the potential for concurrent therapeutic intervention, such as embolectomy or thrombolytic
administration.
6. Which location is the most common site for a peripheral arterial embolus to lodge?
a) Brachial artery
b) Common femoral artery bifurcation
c) Aortic bifurcation
d) Tibial arteries
Answer: B
Explanation: Arterial emboli most frequently obstruct bifurcation points where the vessel
diameter suddenly changes. The common femoral artery bifurcation is a classic location,
