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Postoperative and Emergency Care Flashcards

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

Read the first 7 Postoperative and Emergency Care flashcards as text

  1. Following a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a patient complains of severe right shoulder pain. What is the most likely cause?

    Answer: Referred pain from residual CO2 irritating the diaphragm

    Residual carbon dioxide trapped under the diaphragm causes phrenic nerve irritation, which refers pain to the shoulder tip postoperatively.

  2. The surgical first assistant notes that a patient's blood pressure is 80/50 mmHg and heart rate is 128 bpm one hour post-abdominal surgery. The abdomen is distended. What emergency condition should be suspected?

    Answer: Intra-abdominal hemorrhage

    Hypotension with tachycardia and abdominal distension in the early postoperative period strongly suggests intra-abdominal hemorrhage requiring urgent evaluation.

  3. Which scoring system is used in the PACU to assess a patient's readiness for discharge?

    Answer: Aldrete Score

    The Aldrete (or Modified Aldrete) Score evaluates activity, respiration, circulation, consciousness, and oxygen saturation to determine PACU discharge readiness.

  4. A patient develops sudden dyspnea, hypotension, and jugular venous distension after a central line placement. What is the most likely emergency?

    Answer: Tension pneumothorax

    Tension pneumothorax after central line insertion presents with dyspnea, hypotension, JVD, and absent breath sounds on the affected side, requiring immediate needle decompression.

  5. Which of the following best describes the purpose of incentive spirometry in the postoperative period?

    Answer: Prevent atelectasis by promoting deep breathing and alveolar expansion

    Incentive spirometry encourages sustained maximal inspiration to open collapsed alveoli and prevent postoperative atelectasis and pneumonia.

  6. A patient with a history of latex allergy requires emergency surgery. Which of the following is the most critical preoperative preparation?

    Answer: Ensure a latex-free surgical environment and have anaphylaxis medications immediately available

    A latex-free OR environment combined with immediate availability of epinephrine and anaphylaxis management drugs is the standard of care for latex-allergic patients.

  7. Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is MOST likely to occur in which patient population?

    Answer: Female nonsmokers with a history of PONV receiving opioid analgesia

    Female sex, nonsmoker status, history of PONV or motion sickness, and postoperative opioid use are the four major independent risk factors for PONV.