A 30-year-old woman taking high-dose vitamin supplements for acne presents with headache, papilledema, dry rough skin, hepatomegaly, and arthralgia. Chronic ingestion above 25,000 IU daily of which vitamin best explains these findings?
- A Vitamin A ✓
- B Vitamin D
- C Vitamin E
- D Vitamin K
Correct answer: A. Vitamin A
Explanation
Chronic hypervitaminosis A causes raised intracranial pressure mimicking idiopathic intracranial hypertension, dry desquamating skin, hepatosplenomegaly with fibrosis, bone pain, and alopecia. Retinoids are also teratogenic. Vitamin D excess instead causes hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis, and metastatic calcification, which would be the expected picture if the stem had described renal stones and high calcium. Vitamins E and K toxicity syndromes do not include papilledema.
Reference: Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 10th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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