USMLE Step 2 CK Recalls and Past Papers 2026

Cardiovascular

• Acute coronary syndrome: ECG changes, timing of catheterisation, drugs after a myocardial infarction
• Heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction
• Atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia, heart block, syncope work-up
• Valve disease by murmur, infective endocarditis, pericarditis and tamponade
• Hypertension, hypertensive emergency, aortic dissection, peripheral artery disease

Pulmonary

• Asthma and COPD exacerbations, oxygen therapy
• Community-acquired and hospital-acquired pneumonia, tuberculosis testing
• Pulmonary embolism, pleural effusion analysis, lung nodule follow-up, sleep apnea

Renal and electrolytes

• Prerenal, intrinsic and postrenal acute kidney injury
• Nephritic and nephrotic syndromes, chronic kidney disease complications
• Hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, hypercalcemia, acid-base interpretation

Gastroenterology and hepatology

• Peptic ulcer disease, GI bleeding, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease
• Viral hepatitis serology, cirrhosis, ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
• Pancreatitis, colon cancer screening

Endocrine

• Type 1 and type 2 diabetes management, DKA, hypoglycemia
• Thyroid nodules, hyper- and hypothyroidism, Cushing syndrome, adrenal insufficiency, pheochromocytoma, osteoporosis

Hematology and oncology

• Iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, hemolytic anemia, sickle cell crisis
• Thrombocytopenia, anticoagulation, leukemias and lymphomas, tumor lysis syndrome

Infectious disease

• Sepsis, meningitis, urinary tract infection, cellulitis, osteomyelitis
• HIV testing, treatment start and prophylaxis; sexually transmitted infections

Rheumatology

• Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout and pseudogout, giant cell arteritis, septic joint

Neurology

• Ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, transient ischemic attack, seizure, headache types, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis

Preventive and geriatric medicine

• Adult screening and vaccines, falls, dementia, polypharmacy

Trauma

• Primary survey: airway, breathing, circulation, disability, exposure
• Tension pneumothorax, hemothorax, flail chest, cardiac tamponade, aortic injury
• Blunt and penetrating abdominal trauma: FAST scan, CT or laparotomy
• Pelvic fracture, urethral injury, head injury, epidural and subdural hematoma, spinal cord injury

Shock, burns and critical care

• Hypovolemic, cardiogenic, septic and neurogenic shock
• Burn depth, surface area, fluid resuscitation, inhalation injury
• Compartment syndrome, electrolytes and fluids in the surgical patient

General surgery

• Appendicitis, cholecystitis, choledocholithiasis, cholangitis, gallstone pancreatitis
• Small and large bowel obstruction, volvulus, perforated ulcer, mesenteric ischemia
• Diverticulitis, colorectal cancer, anorectal disease
• Inguinal, femoral and incisional hernias
• Breast mass work-up by age, thyroid nodule, esophageal perforation

Vascular surgery

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening and rupture
• Acute limb ischemia, claudication, carotid stenosis, deep vein thrombosis

Perioperative care

• Preoperative cardiac and pulmonary risk, which drugs to stop before surgery
• Postoperative fever by day: atelectasis, urinary infection, wound infection, thrombosis, drug fever
• Wound dehiscence, anastomotic leak, ileus, malignant hyperthermia

Surgical subspecialties

• Urology: kidney stones, testicular torsion, hematuria, prostate disease
• Orthopedics: hip fracture, common fracture patterns, septic arthritis, cauda equina syndrome
• Ear, nose and throat, ophthalmic and neurosurgical emergencies

Pediatric surgery

• Pyloric stenosis, intussusception, malrotation with volvulus, Hirschsprung disease, congenital diaphragmatic hernia

The newborn

• Apgar score, neonatal resuscitation, birth injuries
• Respiratory distress syndrome, transient tachypnea, meconium aspiration
• Physiologic and pathologic jaundice, when to start phototherapy
• Neonatal sepsis, TORCH infections, hypoglycemia, newborn screening
• Bilious vomiting, necrotizing enterocolitis, tracheoesophageal fistula

Growth, development and prevention

• Gross motor, fine motor, language and social milestones
• Failure to thrive, short stature, puberty that is early or late
• Vaccine schedule and contraindications, lead and anemia screening, car seat and safe sleep advice

Infectious disease

• Fever in the infant under 60 days
• Otitis media, pharyngitis, croup, epiglottitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, pertussis
• Meningitis, urinary tract infection, rashes of childhood, Kawasaki disease

Cardiology

• Ventricular and atrial septal defects, patent ductus arteriosus, coarctation
• Tetralogy of Fallot, transposition, innocent murmurs

Respiratory and allergy

• Asthma classification and treatment, cystic fibrosis, foreign body aspiration, anaphylaxis

Gastroenterology

• Pyloric stenosis, intussusception, Meckel diverticulum, gastroenteritis and dehydration, constipation, celiac disease

Renal and endocrine

• Vesicoureteral reflux, nephrotic syndrome, post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, hemolytic uremic syndrome
• Type 1 diabetes and DKA, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, congenital hypothyroidism

Hematology and oncology

• Iron deficiency, sickle cell disease, immune thrombocytopenia, hemophilia
• Leukemia, Wilms tumor, neuroblastoma

Neurology and genetics

• Febrile seizure, infantile spasms, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy
• Down, Turner, fragile X and other common syndromes

Orthopedics

• Developmental hip dysplasia, slipped capital femoral epiphysis, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, limp

Adolescent medicine and child protection

• Confidentiality and consent for minors, eating disorders, signs of abuse and the duty to report

Normal pregnancy and prenatal care

• Dating a pregnancy, first-visit laboratory tests, aneuploidy screening
• Glucose testing, Rh immunoglobulin, group B streptococcus screening, vaccines in pregnancy
• Drugs that are unsafe in pregnancy

Complications of pregnancy

• Gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia, HELLP syndrome
• Gestational diabetes, hyperemesis, cholestasis of pregnancy, acute fatty liver
• Ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage types, molar pregnancy
• Placenta previa, placental abruption, vasa previa
• Preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes, cervical insufficiency
• Multiple gestation, fetal growth restriction, Rh alloimmunization

Labor and delivery

• Stages of labor, arrest and protraction, induction
• Fetal heart rate patterns: early, late and variable decelerations
• Shoulder dystocia, cord prolapse, breech presentation, operative delivery, chorioamnionitis

Postpartum

• Postpartum hemorrhage causes and stepwise treatment
• Endometritis, mastitis, breastfeeding, postpartum mood disorders, postpartum contraception

Gynecology

• Primary and secondary amenorrhea, polycystic ovary syndrome
• Abnormal uterine bleeding, fibroids, endometriosis, adenomyosis
• Vaginitis, cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease
• Contraception methods and contraindications, emergency contraception
• Infertility work-up, menopause and hormone therapy
• Pelvic organ prolapse, types of urinary incontinence

Gynecologic oncology and breast

• Cervical screening intervals and management of abnormal results
• Postmenopausal bleeding and endometrial cancer, ovarian masses, vulvar lesions
• Breast mass, nipple discharge, breast cancer screening

Mood disorders

• Major depression, persistent depressive disorder, adjustment disorder, normal grief
• Bipolar I and II, cyclothymia, mania caused by drugs
• Choice of antidepressant, lithium monitoring, electroconvulsive therapy

Psychotic disorders

• Brief psychotic disorder, schizophreniform disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder
• First- and second-generation antipsychotics, clozapine monitoring

Anxiety, trauma and obsessive-compulsive disorders

• Generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, specific phobia
• Acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder

Substance use

• Intoxication and withdrawal: alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants, cannabis, hallucinogens
• Delirium tremens, Wernicke encephalopathy
• Drugs for alcohol and opioid use disorder, smoking cessation

Neurocognitive disorders

• Delirium against dementia, Alzheimer disease, vascular, Lewy body and frontotemporal dementia
• Depression that looks like dementia in older adults

Somatic symptom and related disorders

• Somatic symptom disorder, illness anxiety disorder, conversion disorder, factitious disorder, malingering

Eating, sleep and sexual disorders

• Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating, refeeding syndrome
• Insomnia, narcolepsy, parasomnias

Child and adolescent psychiatry

• ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, oppositional defiant and conduct disorder, tic disorders, separation anxiety, enuresis

Personality disorders, emergencies and law

• Clusters A, B and C
• Suicide risk assessment, the agitated patient, involuntary admission, duty to protect, decision-making capacity

Adverse drug effects

• Acute dystonia, akathisia, tardive dyskinesia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome
• Serotonin syndrome, hypertensive crisis with MAO inhibitors, lithium toxicity, tricyclic overdose, metabolic syndrome

Biostatistics

• Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, likelihood ratios
• How prevalence changes predictive values; moving a test cut-off
• Relative risk, odds ratio, attributable risk, absolute risk reduction, number needed to treat and to harm
• Incidence and prevalence, mortality and case-fatality rates
• Mean, median, mode, standard deviation, normal and skewed distributions
• Null hypothesis, p-value, confidence interval, type I and type II error, power
• Choosing a test: t-test, ANOVA, chi-square, correlation

Study design and interpretation of the literature

• Cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, randomized trial, crossover trial, meta-analysis
• Selection, recall, observer, lead-time and length-time bias; confounding and effect modification
• Randomization, blinding, intention-to-treat analysis
• Kaplan-Meier curves, hazard ratios, forest plots
• Reading a research abstract and judging its conclusion

Ethics and law

• Informed consent and its exceptions, decision-making capacity
• Advance directives, surrogate decision-makers, do-not-resuscitate orders
• Minors: consent, emancipation, care a minor can agree to alone
• Confidentiality and when it can be broken; mandatory reporting
• Brain death, organ donation, withdrawing treatment, requests the doctor cannot agree to

Professionalism and communication

• Giving bad news, working with interpreters, the angry or non-adherent patient
• Gifts, conflicts of interest, the impaired colleague, boundaries with patients
• Disclosing an error to the patient

Patient safety and quality improvement

• Active and latent errors, near misses, sentinel events
• Root cause analysis, failure mode and effects analysis, the Swiss cheese model
• Plan-do-study-act cycles, checklists, time-outs, medication reconciliation
• Handoffs and transitions of care, hospital-acquired infections, just culture

Population health

• Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, screening principles, outbreak investigation, health disparities