Oxygen Toxicity & Barotrauma Management Flashcards
7 cards from real CHS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Oxygen Toxicity & Barotrauma Management flashcards as text
Which organ system is primarily affected by CNS oxygen toxicity during hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
Answer: Brain and central nervous system
CNS oxygen toxicity primarily affects the brain, producing seizures as the most dangerous acute manifestation during HBO therapy.
Which symptom represents the 'V' in the VENTIDC mnemonic for early CNS oxygen toxicity warning signs?
Answer: Visual changes such as tunnel vision
Visual changes, particularly tunnel vision or narrowing of the visual field, are a classic early warning sign of CNS oxygen toxicity represented by 'V' in VENTIDC.
Pulmonary (Lorrain Smith) oxygen toxicity is associated with prolonged exposure to a PO2 greater than:
Answer: 0.5 ATA
Pulmonary oxygen toxicity occurs with prolonged exposure to PO2 greater than 0.5 ATA, causing tracheobronchitis and alveolar damage over time.
What is the recommended first action when a patient displays signs of CNS oxygen toxicity during HBO therapy?
Answer: Remove the oxygen mask and have the patient breathe chamber air
Removing the oxygen mask so the patient breathes chamber air (21% O2) is the first intervention to reduce brain oxygen delivery and interrupt the toxicity.
Which physiological condition is a known predisposing factor that significantly increases the risk of CNS oxygen toxicity?
Answer: Hypercapnia (elevated CO2)
Hypercapnia causes cerebral vasodilation, increasing cerebral blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, which lowers the seizure threshold for CNS oxygen toxicity.
Air breaks during HBO treatment are used primarily to:
Answer: Reduce cumulative oxygen toxicity risk by allowing tissue recovery
Air breaks (typically 5 minutes of air breathing between oxygen periods) allow tissues to metabolically recover, significantly reducing cumulative oxygen toxicity risk.
The term 'squeeze' in hyperbaric medicine refers to barotrauma affecting:
Answer: Gas-filled body spaces that cannot equalize pressure during compression
Squeeze describes barotrauma in gas-filled cavities (ears, sinuses, teeth, lungs) when descent/compression occurs faster than the cavity can equalize pressure.