Pharmacology & Medication 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 Pharmacology & Medication Management flashcards as text
A patient receiving intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) for diabetic retinopathy is referred for HBO for a diabetic foot wound. The primary consideration is:
Answer: Anti-VEGF therapy may theoretically counteract HBO-stimulated angiogenesis
Bevacizumab is an anti-VEGF agent, and VEGF induction is one mechanism by which HBO promotes wound healing angiogenesis, creating a theoretical pharmacological conflict.
In decompression sickness (DCS) management, adjunctive aspirin therapy is sometimes used because it:
Answer: Inhibits platelet aggregation triggered by inert gas bubbles at vessel walls
Nitrogen bubbles activate platelet aggregation and inflammatory cascades at vessel walls; aspirin's anti-platelet effect helps reduce this secondary vascular injury in DCS.
NSAIDs are sometimes given to divers with decompression sickness primarily to address:
Answer: Inflammatory and pain components of bubble-mediated tissue injury
NSAIDs target the inflammatory cascade triggered by bubble formation and ischemia-reperfusion injury in DCS, providing adjunctive anti-inflammatory and analgesic benefit.
A diabetic patient's blood glucose drops to 55 mg/dL at 60 minutes into a 90-minute HBO session. The correct initial action is:
Answer: Signal to abort the session and treat hypoglycemia before completing the treatment
Symptomatic or severe hypoglycemia requires aborting the HBO session immediately because untreated hypoglycemia poses greater immediate risk than an incomplete treatment.
Lithium carbonate used for bipolar disorder poses a concern in HBO therapy because:
Answer: It lowers the seizure threshold and has a narrow therapeutic index with pressure-related fluid shifts
Lithium has a narrow therapeutic index and lowers seizure threshold; fluid shifts during compression can alter lithium distribution and increase CNS toxicity risk.
Voriconazole antifungal therapy is flagged as a relative contraindication for HBO because it:
Answer: Has been associated with seizure risk and visual hallucinations, complicating CNS toxicity monitoring
Voriconazole is associated with CNS side effects including seizures and visual hallucinations, which can confound monitoring for oxygen toxicity during HBO sessions.
When administering 100% oxygen via tight-fitting mask to a patient in a multiplace chamber pressurized with air, the risk of oxygen toxicity is determined by:
Answer: The partial pressure of oxygen calculated as FiO2 × total absolute pressure
Oxygen toxicity risk is governed by the partial pressure of oxygen (ppO2 = FiO2 × ATA), not inspired concentration alone, which is why breathing 100% O2 at 2.4 ATA creates a ppO2 of 2.4 atm.