Nutrition: practice question

A Pediatrics question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

Try it

Pediatrics · Nutrition

Sample item

A 10-month-old fed only boiled cow's milk is irritable, refuses to move the legs, and has swollen bleeding gums and subperiosteal haemorrhages. Radiograph shows a ground-glass appearance of bones with a Wimberger ring. Which is the correct treatment?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

B. Oral vitamin C

Infantile scurvy is vitamin C deficiency, which impairs hydroxylation of proline and lysine in collagen. This causes defective connective tissue, bleeding gums, subperiosteal haemorrhage and pseudoparalysis. Radiographic findings include Wimberger ring, Frankel line and Pelkan spurs. Vitamin C produces rapid clinical improvement.

Option by option

  • A. Vitamin A in high dose

    High-dose vitamin A is for xerophthalmia and risks toxicity.

  • B. Oral vitamin C (correct)

    Correct. Vitamin C restores collagen synthesis and reverses the manifestations.

  • C. Vitamin K injection

    Vitamin K deficiency causes bleeding from coagulation defects but not bone changes.

  • D. Vitamin D with calcium

    Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets, with widened and cupped metaphyses.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

More Pediatrics questions

Questions about this Pediatrics question

What is the answer to this Pediatrics question?

The best answer is B, Oral vitamin C. Infantile scurvy is vitamin C deficiency, which impairs hydroxylation of proline and lysine in collagen.

Why is "Vitamin A in high dose" not the answer?

High-dose vitamin A is for xerophthalmia and risks toxicity.

Why is "Vitamin K injection" not the answer?

Vitamin K deficiency causes bleeding from coagulation defects but not bone changes.

Why is "Vitamin D with calcium" not the answer?

Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets, with widened and cupped metaphyses.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Nutrition in Pediatrics. This causes defective connective tissue, bleeding gums, subperiosteal haemorrhage and pseudoparalysis. Radiographic findings include Wimberger ring, Frankel line and Pelkan spurs. Vitamin C produces rapid clinical improvement.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Nutrition?

Memorise milestones and the vaccine schedule as tables and revise them often. Then use the flashcards and the other Pediatrics questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.