Practice Test Geeks(CDCES) Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist Practice Test
← All CDCES Flashcard Decks

Clinical Procedures and Protocols Flashcards

7 cards from real CDCES practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Clinical Procedures and Protocols flashcards as text

  1. A conscious adult has a fingerstick glucose of 62 mg/dL. What is the standard first treatment?

    Answer: Give 15 g of fast-acting carbohydrate and recheck in 15 minutes

    The rule of 15 is 15 g of glucose or fast carbohydrate, a recheck after 15 minutes, and a repeat if glucose is still below 70 mg/dL.

  2. Which glucagon product and dose is right for an adult with severe hypoglycemia who cannot swallow safely?

    Answer: Nasal glucagon 3 mg into one nostril

    Nasal glucagon comes as a single 3-mg dose given into one nostril and does not need to be inhaled.

  3. Sick-day guidelines usually tell patients with type 1 diabetes to check ketones when glucose is above what level?

    Answer: 240 mg/dL

    Ketone testing is advised when glucose is above 240 mg/dL or during illness with nausea or vomiting.

  4. A patient's insulin injections are absorbed unpredictably, and the abdominal sites feel rubbery and thickened. What is the most likely cause and the right intervention?

    Answer: Lipohypertrophy; rotate to healthy tissue and check doses when changing sites

    Reusing the same sites causes lipohypertrophy, which slows absorption, and moving to healthy tissue may need a dose reduction to avoid hypoglycemia.

  5. For an adult with type 1 diabetes, when should the first dilated, comprehensive eye exam take place?

    Answer: Within 5 years after diabetes onset

    Adults with type 1 diabetes should have the first exam within 5 years of onset, while people with type 2 should be examined at diagnosis.

  6. Annual screening for diabetic kidney disease should include which pair of tests?

    Answer: Serum creatinine with eGFR and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio

    eGFR and a spot urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (abnormal ≥30 mg/g) are the recommended annual kidney screening tests.

  7. Most unrefrigerated, in-use insulin vials (such as lispro or glargine) should be thrown away after how many days?

    Answer: 28 days

    Most opened insulin vials stay potent for about 28 days at room temperature, though storage times for some products vary.

How this page was made: written with AI tools and published by Nathan Beja, founder of Practice Test Geeks, who is responsible for its content. Exam facts are checked against the official sources listed below. Not reviewed by a subject-matter expert. Editorial policy

Sources & references

Exam facts on this page (fees, format, dates, passing scores) are checked against these official sources; the date is our last check. Editorial policy

  1. cbdce.org — Test delivery, eligibility, fees, exam format, passing score, registration, retake fee, retake policy, score release, test dates · verified Oct 2026