Practice Test GeeksECMO - Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Practice Test
← All ECMO Flashcard Decks

Circuit Components and Management Flashcards

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

Read the first 7 Circuit Components and Management flashcards as text

  1. What is the primary purpose of the raceway tubing in a centrifugal ECMO pump?

    Answer: To serve as the segment compressed by the pump head

    Raceway tubing is the specialized, crush-resistant segment that sits within a roller pump head and is repeatedly compressed to propel blood.

  2. Which ECMO circuit component is responsible for removing CO2 from the patient's blood?

    Answer: Oxygenator membrane

    The oxygenator membrane facilitates both oxygen delivery and CO2 removal via diffusion across hollow fiber membranes.

  3. When a 'chatter' or 'flutter' is observed in the venous drainage tubing, the most likely cause is:

    Answer: Excessive pump flow rate relative to venous return

    Tubing chatter indicates inadequate venous return relative to the pump's demand, causing intermittent collapse and re-expansion of the drainage line.

  4. The sweep gas flow rate in ECMO primarily controls which parameter?

    Answer: CO2 removal

    Sweep gas flow (the gas flowing through the oxygenator fiber lumen) is the primary determinant of CO2 clearance from the blood.

  5. What is the recommended strategy when air is detected in the ECMO circuit?

    Answer: Clamp the circuit, stop the pump, and remove air before restarting

    Air entry requires immediate circuit clamping and pump stoppage to prevent air embolism, followed by controlled de-airing before circuit restart.

  6. The 'recirculation' phenomenon in VV-ECMO occurs when:

    Answer: Oxygenated blood returning to the patient is re-entrained into the drainage cannula

    Recirculation in VV-ECMO occurs when returned oxygenated blood is immediately suctioned back into the drainage cannula instead of circulating through the patient.

  7. Which cannula configuration is used in VV-ECMO with a single dual-lumen cannula?

    Answer: Bicaval dual-lumen cannula inserted via the internal jugular vein

    The Avalon or similar bicaval dual-lumen cannulas are placed via the right internal jugular vein, with drainage from both caval veins and return to the right atrium.