Risk Management & Mitigation Flashcards
7 cards from real CAA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Risk Management & Mitigation flashcards as text
A patient scheduled for elective surgery is found to have an INR of 3.8 on preoperative labs. What is the most appropriate risk mitigation step?
Answer: Cancel surgery and reverse anticoagulation before rescheduling
An INR of 3.8 represents a significant bleeding risk; elective surgery should be postponed until anticoagulation is safely reversed and INR is within acceptable range.
Which strategy BEST reduces the risk of wrong-site surgery in the perioperative setting?
Answer: Performing a time-out immediately before incision with all team members
The universal protocol requires a time-out with active participation of all team members immediately before incision to verify patient identity, procedure, and site.
A CAA notices that the end-tidal CO2 waveform has suddenly disappeared during a case. What is the FIRST priority action?
Answer: Verify endotracheal tube position and ventilation immediately
Sudden loss of ETCO2 waveform is a critical sign that may indicate esophageal intubation, circuit disconnection, or cardiac arrest and requires immediate verification of airway and ventilation.
Which of the following is a key component of a root cause analysis (RCA) following an anesthesia-related adverse event?
Answer: Analyzing system and process failures that contributed to the event
RCA focuses on identifying underlying system and process failures rather than individual blame to prevent recurrence of adverse events.
A patient with known latex allergy is scheduled for surgery. What is the MOST important risk mitigation measure?
Answer: Ensure a latex-free environment is prepared prior to patient arrival
A fully latex-free environment must be established before the patient enters the OR to prevent allergic and anaphylactic reactions.
During a case, the CAA suspects a medication administration error has occurred. After treating the patient, what should be done next?
Answer: Complete an incident report and disclose the error through proper channels
Incident reporting and transparent disclosure are ethical and legal obligations that support patient safety and system improvement.
Which preoperative assessment finding most significantly increases the risk of pulmonary aspiration during anesthesia induction?
Answer: Symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease with full stomach
Symptomatic GERD combined with a full stomach markedly increases aspiration risk, warranting rapid sequence induction and additional precautions.