Emergency Response Procedures Flashcards
7 cards from real ABA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Emergency Response Procedures flashcards as text
A patient's SpO2 suddenly drops to 72% and peak airway pressure increases from 22 to 58 cmH2O during mechanical ventilation. Breath sounds are absent on the right with tracheal deviation to the left. The MOST immediate treatment is:
Answer: Needle decompression at the 2nd intercostal space, midclavicular line on the right
Clinical tension pneumothorax is a clinical diagnosis requiring immediate needle decompression without waiting for imaging confirmation.
During a thyroidectomy, the surgeon accidentally enters the trachea. The anesthesiologist hears air rushing through the surgical field. The MOST appropriate airway management is:
Answer: Insert a tracheostomy tube directly through the surgical defect
Inadvertent tracheal entry during thyroid surgery allows the anesthesiologist to guide a cuffed tracheostomy tube directly through the defect to maintain the airway.
A patient on high-dose amiodarone for atrial fibrillation undergoes thoracic surgery. Postoperatively, he develops acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Which drug interaction is most likely responsible?
Answer: Amiodarone pulmonary toxicity potentiated by high intraoperative FiO2
High FiO2 potentiates amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity by generating reactive oxygen species; using the lowest FiO2 that maintains saturation is recommended in these patients.
A morbidly obese patient (BMI 52) is rapidly desaturating during a difficult intubation. Which technique provides the longest apnea time before critical desaturation?
Answer: High-flow nasal cannula apneic oxygenation (HFNO) at 60 L/min during intubation attempts
High-flow nasal cannula apneic oxygenation during laryngoscopy extends safe apnea time by flushing the nasopharynx with oxygen, sustaining SpO2 even after respiratory effort ceases.
Malignant hyperthermia dantrolene dosing requires mixing each vial with sterile water. Each vial of dantrolene contains 20 mg. For an initial dose of 2.5 mg/kg in a 100 kg patient, how many vials are needed?
Answer: 13 vials
2.5 mg/kg × 100 kg = 250 mg ÷ 20 mg/vial = 12.5, rounded up to 13 vials to ensure full dose delivery.
A patient on a heparin infusion for pulmonary embolism requires emergent surgery. Intraoperatively, heparin anticoagulation must be reversed. The dose of protamine to reverse 10,000 units of heparin given within the last hour is:
Answer: 1 mg protamine per 100 units heparin (100 mg total)
The standard protamine dosing is 1 mg per 100 units of heparin administered within the past hour, so 10,000 units requires 100 mg protamine, given slowly to avoid hypotension.
During emergence from general anesthesia, a patient develops negative pressure pulmonary edema (NPPE) after biting on the ETT. Which management strategy is MOST appropriate?
Answer: Reintubate, apply PEEP 5–10 cmH2O, consider diuresis with furosemide
NPPE is treated with reintubation, PEEP to recruit collapsed alveoli, and judicious diuresis to reduce pulmonary edema from the negative pressure injury.