DNB General Medicine previous-year questions (2020–2025)

Paper I

• Q3(a) — Midbrain cross-section and midbrain stroke syndromes 5 marks
• Q3(b) — Midbrain cross-section and midbrain stroke syndromes 5 marks
• Q4(a) — Infections in pregnancy — immunology and antimicrobial use 5 marks
• Q4(b) — Infections in pregnancy — immunology and antimicrobial use 5 marks
• Q5(a) — Carcinogenesis, oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes 5 marks
• Q5(b) — Carcinogenesis, oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes 5 marks
• Q9(a) — Hypersensitivity reactions — classification and type III immunopathogenesis 5 marks
• Q9(b) — Hypersensitivity reactions — classification and type III immunopathogenesis 5 marks

Paper II

• Q1(a) — Generalised lymphadenopathy, Hodgkin vs non-Hodgkin lymphoma, WHO classification and Ann Arbor staging 4 marks
• Q1(b) — Generalised lymphadenopathy, Hodgkin vs non-Hodgkin lymphoma, WHO classification and Ann Arbor staging 3 marks
• Q1(c) — Generalised lymphadenopathy, Hodgkin vs non-Hodgkin lymphoma, WHO classification and Ann Arbor staging 3 marks
• Q2(a) — Azotaemia and renal failure indices 5 marks
• Q3 — Syncope — causes, pathophysiology and evaluation 10 marks

Paper III

• Q3(a) — Oncological emergencies and tumour lysis syndrome 3 marks
• Q3(b) — Oncological emergencies and tumour lysis syndrome 7 marks
• Q5(a) — Headache — pathophysiology, ICHD-3 classification and approach to new-onset headache 2 marks
• Q5(b) — Headache — pathophysiology, ICHD-3 classification and approach to new-onset headache 3 marks
• Q5(c) — Headache — pathophysiology, ICHD-3 classification and approach to new-onset headache 5 marks
• Q6(a) — Hyponatraemia in heart failure and cirrhosis and vasopressin antagonists 5 marks
• Q6(b) — Hyponatraemia in heart failure and cirrhosis and vasopressin antagonists 5 marks

Paper I

• Q7(a) — Myelodysplastic syndromes and complications of haematopoietic cell transplantation 4 marks
• Q7(b) — Myelodysplastic syndromes and complications of haematopoietic cell transplantation 3 marks
• Q7(c) — Myelodysplastic syndromes and complications of haematopoietic cell transplantation 3 marks
• Q10(a) — Physiology of swallowing and approach to dysphagia 5 marks
• Q10(b) — Physiology of swallowing and approach to dysphagia 5 marks

Paper II

• Q6 — Approach to and management of urethritis in men 10 marks
• Q7(a) — Orthostatic hypotension — causes, diagnosis and management 2 marks
• Q7(b) — Orthostatic hypotension — causes, diagnosis and management 3 marks
• Q9(a) — Chronic meningitis — non-infectious causes and clinical features 5 marks
• Q9(b) — Chronic meningitis — non-infectious causes and clinical features 5 marks

Paper III

• Q5(a) — Chronic granulomatous disease 5 marks
• Q8(a) — Physiology of sleep, hypersomnolence and narcolepsy 4 marks
• Q8(b) — Physiology of sleep, hypersomnolence and narcolepsy 6 marks

Paper IV

• Q5 — Paraneoplastic syndromes — endocrine and neurological, and humoral hypercalcaemia of malignancy 10 marks
• Q6(a) — Palliative care — domains, P-SPIKES, symptoms of the terminally ill and advance care planning 4 marks
• Q6(b) — Palliative care — domains, P-SPIKES, symptoms of the terminally ill and advance care planning 3 marks
• Q6(c) — Palliative care — domains, P-SPIKES, symptoms of the terminally ill and advance care planning 3 marks
• Q7(a) — Azotaemia and renal failure indices 5 marks
• Q9(a) — Thalassaemias — -thalassaemia classification and thalassaemia major 5 marks
• Q9(b) — Transfusion reactions and TRALI 5 marks

Paper I

• Q2(a) — Pain pathways, pain modulation and drugs for neuropathic pain 4 marks
• Q2(b) — Pain pathways, pain modulation and drugs for neuropathic pain 3 marks
• Q3(a) — Cardiac cycle and its changes with exercise 4 marks
• Q3(b) — Cardiac cycle and its changes with exercise 6 marks
• Q6(a) — Physiology of red cell production and hypoproliferative anaemia 4 marks
• Q6(b) — Physiology of red cell production and hypoproliferative anaemia 6 marks
• Q9(a) — Neurological findings that localise a lesion 5 marks

Paper II

• Q1(a) — Orthostatic hypotension — causes, diagnosis and management 1 marks
• Q1(b) — Orthostatic hypotension — causes, diagnosis and management 3 marks
• Q1(c) — Orthostatic hypotension — causes, diagnosis and management 6 marks
• Q3(a) — Infective endocarditis — Duke criteria, right-sided IE, surgery, prophylaxis 4 marks
• Q3(b) — Infective endocarditis — Duke criteria, right-sided IE, surgery, prophylaxis 6 marks

Paper III

• Q6(a) — Pancytopenia and acquired aplastic anaemia 5 marks
• Q6(b) — Pancytopenia and acquired aplastic anaemia 5 marks
• Q10(a) — Renal tubular acidosis — types, diagnosis and treatment 5 marks
• Q10(b) — Renal tubular acidosis — types, diagnosis and treatment 5 marks

Paper IV

• Q1(a) — Non-respiratory (endocrine and metabolic) functions of the lung 5 marks
• Q3(a) — Blood component therapy and artificial oxygen carriers 5 marks
• Q3(b) — Blood component therapy and artificial oxygen carriers 5 marks
• Q4(a) — Adult immunisation and novel vaccine approaches 5 marks
• Q4(b) — Adult immunisation and novel vaccine approaches 5 marks
• Q7(a) — Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance 5 marks
• Q7(b) — Antimicrobial stewardship programme and strategies to prevent resistance 5 marks
• Q10(a) — Autoimmune encephalitis — classification, diagnosis and treatment 3 marks
• Q10(b) — Autoimmune encephalitis — classification, diagnosis and treatment 4 marks
• Q10(c) — Autoimmune encephalitis — classification, diagnosis and treatment 3 marks

Paper I

• Q1 — Approach to a patient with chest pain 10 marks
• Q4 — Oral cavity examination in general medicine 10 marks
• Q5(a) — Headache — pathophysiology, ICHD-3 classification and approach to new-onset headache 5 marks
• Q8(a) — Randomised controlled trials 5 marks
• Q8(b) — Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide 5 marks

Paper II

• Q5 — Recurrent urinary tract infection — causes, evaluation and treatment 10 marks
• Q6(a) — Diarrhoea — types, secretory diarrhoea, stool osmotic gap and approach to chronic diarrhoea 2 marks
• Q7 — Approach to polycythaemia / raised haematocrit 10 marks
• Q8(a) — Upper GI bleeding and haematemesis — causes and management 5 marks
• Q10(a) — Haemolytic anaemias — classification, pathophysiology and laboratory diagnosis 5 marks
• Q10(b) — Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia 5 marks

Paper III

• Q3(a) — Ethical principles and conflicts of interest in the medical profession 5 marks
• Q3(b) — Ethical principles and conflicts of interest in the medical profession 5 marks
• Q8(a) — Multiple myeloma and plasma-cell disorders 5 marks
• Q8(b) — Multiple myeloma and plasma-cell disorders 5 marks

Paper IV

• Q8(a) — Novel (direct) oral anticoagulants 5 marks
• Q10(a) — Statistical analysis in research and Bayes' theorem in diagnosis 5 marks
• Q10(b) — Tools for assessing quality of health care 5 marks

Paper II

• Q8(a) — Coma — approach, aetiopathogenesis and brain death criteria 4 marks
• Q8(b) — Coma — approach, aetiopathogenesis and brain death criteria 3 marks
• Q8(c) — Coma — approach, aetiopathogenesis and brain death criteria 3 marks
• Q9 — Multiple myeloma and plasma-cell disorders 10 marks

Paper III

• Q9(b) — Dermatological manifestations of internal malignancy 5 marks

Paper IV

• Q2(b) — Case-control study 5 marks

Paper I

• Q3 — Hyperkalaemia — aetiology, ECG features and management 10 marks
• Q9(a) — Haemolytic anaemias — classification, pathophysiology and laboratory diagnosis 5 marks
• Q9(b) — Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria 5 marks
• Q10(a) — Physiology of smell and causes of anosmia 5 marks
• Q10(b) — Differential cyanosis 5 marks

Paper II

• Q1 — Iron metabolism, diagnosis of iron deficiency and iron therapy 10 marks
• Q2 — Upper GI bleeding and haematemesis — causes and management 10 marks
• Q3 — Recurrent urinary tract infection — causes, evaluation and treatment 10 marks
• Q7 — Paraneoplastic syndromes — endocrine and neurological, and humoral hypercalcaemia of malignancy 10 marks

Paper III

• Q6 — Sample size — calculation for prevalence and errors 10 marks

Paper IV

• Q8 — Stroke units — components, types and protocol 10 marks

Paper I

• Q2(a) — Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance 5 marks
• Q2(b) — Antimicrobial stewardship programme and strategies to prevent resistance 5 marks
• Q3(a) — Midbrain cross-section and midbrain stroke syndromes 5 marks
• Q3(b) — Midbrain cross-section and midbrain stroke syndromes 5 marks
• Q4(a) — Estimation of glomerular filtration rate 5 marks
• Q5(b) — Orthostatic hypotension — causes, diagnosis and management 5 marks
• Q8(b) — Hypercoagulable state — pathogenesis and diagnostic tests 5 marks

Paper II

• Q4(a) — Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis 5 marks
• Q10(a) — Infective endocarditis — Duke criteria, right-sided IE, surgery, prophylaxis 3 marks

Paper III

• Q3(a) — Pseudomembranous colitis (C. difficile) 5 marks
• Q3(b) — Catheter-associated urinary tract infection 5 marks
• Q4(a) — Renal tubular acidosis — types, diagnosis and treatment 5 marks
• Q6(a) — Traveller's diarrhoea 4 marks
• Q8(a) — Disseminated intravascular coagulation 5 marks
• Q8(b) — Oncological emergencies and tumour lysis syndrome 5 marks

Paper IV

• Q4(b) — Rapidly progressive dementia 5 marks
• Q5(a) — Iron metabolism, diagnosis of iron deficiency and iron therapy 5 marks
• Q6(a) — Informed consent 5 marks
• Q6(b) — Randomised controlled trials 5 marks
• Q8(b) — Autoimmune encephalitis — classification, diagnosis and treatment 5 marks

Paper I

• Q1(a) — Innervation of the urinary bladder and types of bladder dysfunction 5 marks
• Q1(b) — Innervation of the urinary bladder and types of bladder dysfunction 5 marks
• Q2(a) — Pain pathways, pain modulation and drugs for neuropathic pain 2 marks
• Q2(b) — Abdominal pain — mechanisms and differential diagnosis by location 4 marks
• Q2(c) — Abdominal pain — mechanisms and differential diagnosis by location 4 marks
• Q3(a) — Pathogenesis of fever, fever with rash and approach to FUO 3 marks
• Q3(b) — Pathogenesis of fever, fever with rash and approach to FUO 2 marks
• Q3(c) — Pathogenesis of fever, fever with rash and approach to FUO 5 marks
• Q4(a) — Palliative care — domains, P-SPIKES, symptoms of the terminally ill and advance care planning 2 marks
• Q4(b) — Palliative care — domains, P-SPIKES, symptoms of the terminally ill and advance care planning 3 marks
• Q7(a) — Physiology of swallowing and approach to dysphagia 3 marks
• Q7(b) — Physiology of swallowing and approach to dysphagia 3 marks
• Q8(a) — Transfusion reactions and TRALI 5 marks
• Q8(b) — Transfusion reactions and TRALI 5 marks

Paper II

• Q4(b) — Hyponatraemia — types, evaluation by ECF volume and treatment 7 marks
• Q6(a) — Asymptomatic bacteriuria and emphysematous pyelonephritis 5 marks
• Q6(b) — Asymptomatic bacteriuria and emphysematous pyelonephritis 5 marks
• Q8(a) — Headache — pathophysiology, ICHD-3 classification and approach to new-onset headache 4 marks
• Q10(a) — Vertigo — approach, peripheral vs central and treatment 4 marks
• Q10(b) — Vertigo — approach, peripheral vs central and treatment 3 marks
• Q10(c) — Vertigo — approach, peripheral vs central and treatment 3 marks

Paper III

• Q9(a) — Cutaneous manifestations of HIV 5 marks
• Q10(b) — Antimicrobial stewardship programme and strategies to prevent resistance 5 marks

Paper IV

• Q2(a) — Immune thrombocytopenia 5 marks
• Q2(b) — Approach to polycythaemia / raised haematocrit 5 marks
• Q6(b) — Adult immunisation and novel vaccine approaches 5 marks
• Q9(b) — Communication skills in health-care workers 5 marks

Paper I

• Q2 — Diarrhoea — types, secretory diarrhoea, stool osmotic gap and approach to chronic diarrhoea 10 marks
• Q3(a) — Carcinogenesis, oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes 5 marks
• Q3(b) — Signal transduction pathways in cancer cells 5 marks
• Q4(a) — Superior vena cava — anatomy and SVC syndrome 4 marks
• Q4(b) — Superior vena cava — anatomy and SVC syndrome 6 marks
• Q7(a) — Iron metabolism, diagnosis of iron deficiency and iron therapy 5 marks
• Q7(b) — Laboratory diagnosis of acute viral encephalitis 5 marks
• Q8(a) — Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide 5 marks
• Q9(a) — Biochemical basis of megaloblastic anaemia 5 marks
• Q9(b) — Oxygen dissociation curve and haemoglobins with altered oxygen affinity 5 marks

Paper III

• Q1(b) — Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome 5 marks
• Q4(a) — Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia 5 marks
• Q9 — Infective endocarditis — Duke criteria, right-sided IE, surgery, prophylaxis 10 marks
• Q10 — Coagulation cascade, classification and laboratory diagnosis of bleeding disorders 10 marks

Paper IV

• Q8 — Pancytopenia and acquired aplastic anaemia 10 marks

Paper I

• Q2(a) — Cytokine storm in COVID-19 5 marks
• Q2(b) — Cytokine storm in COVID-19 5 marks
• Q4 — Pain pathways, pain modulation and drugs for neuropathic pain 10 marks
• Q5 — Palliative care — domains, P-SPIKES, symptoms of the terminally ill and advance care planning 10 marks
• Q7 — Oncological emergencies and tumour lysis syndrome 10 marks
• Q8 — Syncope — causes, pathophysiology and evaluation 10 marks
• Q9(a) — Coagulation cascade, classification and laboratory diagnosis of bleeding disorders 3 marks
• Q9(b) — Coagulation cascade, classification and laboratory diagnosis of bleeding disorders 7 marks

Paper II

• Q2 — Multiple myeloma and plasma-cell disorders 10 marks
• Q9(ii) — Dermatological complications of diabetes 5 marks

Paper III

• Q8 — Superior vena cava — anatomy and SVC syndrome 10 marks
• Q9 — Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria 10 marks

Paper IV

• Q2(b) — Reversal (remission) of type 2 diabetes 5 marks
• Q3(a) — Statistical analysis in research and Bayes' theorem in diagnosis 5 marks
• Q6(a) — Novel (direct) oral anticoagulants 5 marks

Paper I

• Q4 — Hyponatraemia — types, evaluation by ECF volume and treatment 10 marks
• Q5 — Antimicrobial stewardship programme and strategies to prevent resistance 10 marks
• Q7 — Haemolytic anaemias — classification, pathophysiology and laboratory diagnosis 10 marks
• Q8 — Physiology of sleep, hypersomnolence and narcolepsy 10 marks

Paper II

• Q1(a) — Transfusion reactions and TRALI 6 marks
• Q1(b) — Acute myeloid leukaemia — diagnosis and favourable genetics 4 marks
• Q7(b) — CSF findings in acute bacterial meningitis 3 marks
• Q9(a) — Hyporeninaemic hypoaldosteronism and hyperkalaemia 6 marks
• Q9(b) — Hyperkalaemia — aetiology, ECG features and management 4 marks

Paper III

• Q2(a) — Myeloma kidney 5 marks
• Q3(a) — Thalassaemias — -thalassaemia classification and thalassaemia major 5 marks
• Q6(a) — Non-immune cutaneous drug reactions 5 marks
• Q6(b) — Generalised lymphadenopathy, Hodgkin vs non-Hodgkin lymphoma, WHO classification and Ann Arbor staging 5 marks
• Q7(a) — Empirical antibiotic treatment of community-acquired pneumonia 6 marks

Paper IV

• Q1(b) — Infections in post-splenectomy patients 5 marks
• Q2(a) — Gompertzian growth of tumours 4 marks
• Q2(b) — Lactic acidosis 6 marks
• Q4(b) — Diarrhoea — types, secretory diarrhoea, stool osmotic gap and approach to chronic diarrhoea 5 marks
• Q5(a) — Oxygen dissociation curve and haemoglobins with altered oxygen affinity 5 marks
• Q6(a) — Principles of radiation therapy in malignancy 5 marks
• Q8(b) — Falls in the elderly 5 marks

Paper I

• Q1 — Basic reproduction number (R0) in epidemiology 10 marks
• Q5 — Antimicrobial stewardship programme and strategies to prevent resistance 10 marks
• Q6 — Physiology of sleep, hypersomnolence and narcolepsy 10 marks
• Q8 — Iron metabolism, diagnosis of iron deficiency and iron therapy 10 marks

Paper II

• Q7 — Immune thrombocytopenia 10 marks
• Q8 — Hospital-acquired pneumonia 10 marks
• Q10(a) — Upper GI bleeding and haematemesis — causes and management 4 marks

Paper III

• Q1(ii) — Renal tubular acidosis — types, diagnosis and treatment 7 marks
• Q3 — Multiple myeloma and plasma-cell disorders 10 marks
• Q5 — Transfusion reactions and TRALI 10 marks
• Q6 — Plasma therapy (convalescent plasma and plasma products) 10 marks
• Q7 — Delirium — causes and management 10 marks

Paper IV

• Q5(a) — Non-respiratory (endocrine and metabolic) functions of the lung 5 marks