Wattle Pharmacy Prep

Eye, ear, nose and throat
Practice questions with explanations

Eye, ear, nose and throat belongs to Therapeutics and patient care, which makes up about 45% of the Overseas Pharmacist Readiness Assessment (OPRA®). Answer each question yourself before opening the explanation.

1. Which advice applies to a contact lens wearer using eye drops?

  1. Remove soft lenses before instillation and wait 15 minutes before reinserting, since preservatives such as benzalkonium accumulate in the lens
  2. Lenses should be reinserted immediately
  3. Lenses can remain in place for all drops
  4. Preservatives do not affect lenses
Show answer

A. Remove soft lenses before instillation and wait 15 minutes before reinserting, since preservatives such as benzalkonium accumulate in the lens

Benzalkonium binds to hydrogel lenses and can be released back onto the cornea in concentrated form, causing irritation and damage. A red painful eye in a lens wearer is also a referral, since microbial keratitis, including Acanthamoeba, presents this way and can destroy sight. Preservative-free products are an option for regular users.

2. Which treatment is first line for moderate to severe allergic rhinitis?

  1. An oral antihistamine alone in all cases
  2. An oral decongestant long term
  3. A topical decongestant used continuously
  4. An intranasal corticosteroid used regularly, with correct technique and an expectation of benefit over days
Show answer

D. An intranasal corticosteroid used regularly, with correct technique and an expectation of benefit over days

Intranasal corticosteroids outperform antihistamines for nasal congestion, the symptom patients find most troublesome, but they need regular use and take days to work, so patients who try them once as needed conclude they do not help. Technique matters: aim away from the septum to avoid epistaxis, and do not sniff hard.

3. Which systemic drug class commonly causes tinnitus or hearing loss?

  1. Aminoglycosides, loop diuretics at high dose, high-dose salicylates, cisplatin and some macrolides
  2. Topical emollients
  3. Proton pump inhibitors
  4. Inhaled corticosteroids
Show answer

A. Aminoglycosides, loop diuretics at high dose, high-dose salicylates, cisplatin and some macrolides

Aminoglycoside and cisplatin ototoxicity is often permanent and may be cochlear or vestibular, so any new tinnitus, hearing change or unsteadiness during treatment requires prompt attention. Salicylate tinnitus is dose-related and reversible and is a useful clinical marker in overdose. Rapid intravenous frusemide is the classic diuretic cause.

These are 3 of the 20 questions on eye, ear, nose and throat in the app.

All 2,200 questions, offline

Wattle Pharmacy Prep has every question with a full explanation, practice by area and topic, timed 120-question mock exams in 150 minutes, and a readiness score that only counts a question once you have answered it correctly twice in a row. One purchase, no subscription, no account, fully offline.

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