The conditions that appear most often in PLAB 1 are the high-frequency, decision-critical presentations a UK Foundation Year 2 doctor manages — acute coronary syndrome, sepsis, asthma, COPD, pulmonary embolism, diabetes and its emergencies, stroke, and the common cancers behind two-week-wait referrals, among others. The list below is the twenty most worth prioritising, each with the key decision it tests. It's a prioritisation aid mapped to the 2026 MLA content map, not a complete syllabus — the exam can test anything on the map.
Key takeaways
- These twenty span the highest-yield systems: cardiology, respiratory, endocrine, neurology, infection, GI, psychiatry and emergency medicine.
- PLAB 1 rewards the decision (next best step, most appropriate management), not pure recall.
- Ethics, capacity and safeguarding thread through many stems — they're on the list for a reason.
- Use this to sequence revision, not to narrow it — full content-map coverage still matters.
- Drill your weak ones first; an adaptive bank finds them for you.
The 20 most commonly tested conditions
- Acute coronary syndrome — recognising STEMI versus NSTEMI/unstable angina and the immediate management is a core F2 decision.
- Sepsis — spotting it early and applying the sepsis six is safety-critical and heavily tested.
- Asthma (acute exacerbation) — severity grading and stepwise management are classic SBA material.
- COPD (exacerbation) — distinguishing from asthma and managing acutely, including oxygen targets.
- Pulmonary embolism — risk assessment, Wells scoring and investigation pathways come up repeatedly.
- Type 2 diabetes & DKA — both chronic management and the emergency (DKA) are high-frequency.
- Acute kidney injury — identifying cause, staging, and the immediate steps including medication review.
- Community-acquired pneumonia — CURB-65 and management decisions are exam staples.
- Heart failure — diagnosis, investigation and first-line management feature often.
- Atrial fibrillation — rate versus rhythm control and anticoagulation decisions are reliably tested.
- Stroke & TIA — time-critical recognition, imaging and the thrombolysis/thrombectomy decision.
- Upper GI bleed / peptic ulcer disease — risk scoring and resuscitation priorities.
- Anaphylaxis — immediate recognition and adrenaline management; a high-stakes "next step" favourite.
- Meningitis — red-flag recognition and the urgency of management, including when not to delay.
- Urinary tract infection & pyelonephritis — common, with appropriate investigation and treatment choices.
- Depression & risk assessment — diagnosis, severity and especially risk assessment recur throughout.
- Dementia & delirium — distinguishing the two and managing delirium is a common trap.
- Common cancers & two-week-wait referral — recognising red flags and the correct referral pathway (e.g. colorectal, lung).
- Thyroid disease — hypo- and hyperthyroidism, interpretation of thyroid function tests.
- Capacity, consent & safeguarding — ethics and law thread through many questions and are reliably examined.
How to use this list
Treat these twenty as where to start, not where to stop. Work through each until you can answer the key decision quickly and confidently, then widen to full content-map coverage in your volume phase. Two habits matter most: review every wrong answer until the reasoning is clear, and learn the UK pathway for each — PLAB 1 often hinges on the management the GMC expects in the NHS, which may differ from where you trained.
You can revise each of these conditions in a structured way through the iatroX UKMLA Academy, which maps to the 2026 MLA content map. And rather than working through this list blindly, iatroX's adaptive engine surfaces the high-yield conditions you are weakest on, while Ask iatroX lets you confirm the UK management against NICE, CKS, SIGN and the SmPC. iatroX covers PLAB 1 and UKMLA on one subscription (£29/month or £99/year), with free sample questions.
A summary at a glance
| System | High-yield conditions from this list |
|---|---|
| Cardiology | ACS, heart failure, atrial fibrillation |
| Respiratory | Asthma, COPD, pneumonia, PE |
| Endocrine | Diabetes/DKA, thyroid disease |
| Neurology | Stroke/TIA, meningitis |
| Infection | Sepsis, UTI/pyelonephritis |
| Gastroenterology | Upper GI bleed/peptic ulcer |
| Renal | Acute kidney injury |
| Psychiatry | Depression & risk, dementia/delirium |
| Emergency | Anaphylaxis, the acutely unwell patient |
| Oncology | Common cancers & two-week-wait referral |
| Ethics & law | Capacity, consent, safeguarding |
Frequently asked questions
What conditions come up most in PLAB 1? The highest-frequency ones are decision-critical F2-level presentations — acute coronary syndrome, sepsis, asthma, COPD, PE, diabetes/DKA, stroke, pneumonia, AKI and the common cancers behind two-week-wait referrals — alongside ethics and capacity topics that thread through the paper.
Is this a list of PLAB 1 recalls? No. This is a prioritisation aid based on the weighting of the MLA content map and the conditions common in UK F2 practice — not exam recalls or leaked content. The exam can test anything on the content map.
Can I pass PLAB 1 by revising only these 20 conditions? No. These are where to focus first, but they are not the whole syllabus. Use them to sequence your revision, then aim for full content-map coverage.
Does PLAB 1 test management or just diagnosis? Both, but it leans heavily on management and the "most appropriate next step" — PLAB 1 is pitched at applying knowledge to clinical decisions at F2 level, not pure recall.
Are these the same high-yield conditions for the UKMLA AKT? Yes. Because PLAB 1 and the UKMLA AKT share the MLA content map and standard, the high-yield conditions are the same for both.