Kaplan USMLE Step 2: Woman has gone without sleep for 3 days

If you’re preparing for the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) Step 2 exam, you might want to know which questions are most often missed by test-prep takers. Check out this example from Kaplan Medical, and read an expert explanation of the answer. Also check out all posts in this series.  

A 19-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department by her friends after a week of “bizarre behavior.” The friends say that she has been “talking a mile a minute” and stating that she has special powers from God. The patient has not slept in the past three days and yet has been “running all over the place and spending to the limit on her credit cards.”

On mental status examination, the patient is distracted and shows pressured speech and flight of ideas. When asked about her mood, the patient replies that she has never felt this good before. She denies any suicidal or homicidal intent, ideation, or plan. She notes that she has never been depressed in her life. Physical examination is unremarkable. There is no history of substance use disorder and urinary toxicology is negative.

Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

A. Bipolar I disorder.

B. Bipolar II disorder.

C. Cyclothymic disorder.

D. Schizophrenia.

E. Schizoaffective disorder.

The correct answer is A.

Bipolar I disorder is the most likely diagnosis for this patient as she currently meets the criteria for a classic manic episode given her weeklong episode of distractibility, decreased need for sleep, and flight of ideas.

Choice B: Bipolar II disorder is characterized by hypomania (not mania) and major depression. This patient is manic now, so she cannot be diagnosed with bipolar II disorder.