EDAIC Study Guide 2026

A left-sided DLT is preferred for most thoracic cases because the right upper lobe bronchus is easily blocked; for left pneumonectomy a right-sided DLT or bronchial blocker is used instead.

In Reason's model, healthcare systems have multiple defensive barriers (like slices of cheese), each with latent holes (system weaknesses, not just individual errors). A critical incident occurs when holes in successive layers momentarily align, allowing a hazard to pass through all defences and cause harm. This model shifted safety thinking from 'blame the individual' to 'fix the system'.

The liver synthesizes clotting factors II, VII, IX, and X (vitamin K-dependent); advanced liver disease impairs their production, prolonging PT/INR.

Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in soda lime reacts with sevoflurane to produce Compound A (fluoromethyl-2,2-difluoro-1-trifluoromethylvinyl ether).

The IASP defines chronic pain as pain that persists beyond normal tissue healing time (usually 3 months) or recurs over more than 3-6 months, often reclassified to >3 months in updated criteria.

Almitrine bismesilate is a specific pharmacological potentiator of HPV that diverts blood flow away from the collapsed non-ventilated lung, improving V/Q matching and PaO₂ during OLV. It was used clinically in France and some European centres but was withdrawn from most markets because of dose-dependent peripheral sensory neuropathy with long-term use. This combination of mechanism and toxicity is a classic EDAIC exam point. Option A is incorrect: propofol TIVA does NOT abolish HPV (intravenous agents preserve HPV), whereas volatile agents cause dose-dependent HPV inhibition — this is the key pharmacological difference. Option B is partially correct in that ≤1 MAC volatile agents have modest HPV inhibition, but this is still clinically significant and is not 'negligible.' Option D is incorrect: hypercapnia and hypoxia both POTENTIATE HPV (not reverse it) via shared intracellular pathways.