NUR 612 Exam 2 | (2026) Diagnostic Reasoning Questions | Health Assessment (PDF)

NUR 612 Exam 2 | (2026) Diagnostic Reasoning

Questions | Health Assessment (PDF)

1. A 45-year-old male reports chest pressure during

exertion that subsides with rest. What is the most likely

diagnostic hypothesis?



A) Pericarditis




B) Stable angina




C) Pulmonary embolism




D) GERD

Answer: B

Rationale: Stable angina is provoked by increased

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,myocardial oxygen demand (exertion) and relieved by

rest. Pericarditis is positional and pleuritic; PE presents

with sudden dyspnea; GERD is postprandial or recumbent.



2. You are using a tiered differential diagnosis approach.

After identifying an "anatomic" differential, what is the

next step?



A) Order all possible tests




B) Generate a "pathophysiologic" differential




C) Start empiric treatment




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,D) Refer to specialist

Answer: B

Rationale: The tiered reasoning model is: Anatomic →

Pathophysiologic → Etiologic → Ranked differential.

Skipping steps leads to premature closure.



3. Which pretest probability level provides the greatest

utility for ordering a diagnostic test?



A) Very low (e.g., 2%)




B) Intermediate (e.g., 40–60%)




C) Very high (e.g., 90%)




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, D) Zero

Answer: B
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Rationale: Diagnostic tests are most valuable when
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j6 pretest probability is intermediate because results can
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j6 shift post-test probability above treatment threshold or
j6 j6 j6 j6 j6 j6




j6 belowtestthreshold.j6 j6




4. A patient's D-dimer is elevated. Which of the following is
j6 j6 j6 j6 j6 j6 j6 j6 j6




j6 NOT a cause of false-positive D-dimer?
j6 j6 j6 j6 j6




A) Recent surgery j6




B) Pregnancy




C) Low clinical pretest probability for PE
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