EDAIC Respiratory and Thoracic Anesthesia 3

Question 1

Bronchospasm during thoracic surgery is LEAST likely to respond to which intervention?

Accepted Answer

IV rocuronium

Answer

Neuromuscular blocking agents have no bronchodilatory effect; bronchospasm requires agents that relax airway smooth muscle via adrenergic or anti-cholinergic mechanisms.

Question 2

During video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), inadequate lung collapse despite a correctly positioned DLT is most efficiently addressed by:

Accepted Answer

Insufflating CO2 into the pleural space at low pressure

Answer

Low-pressure CO2 insufflation (up to 8 mmHg) into the pleural cavity rapidly collapses the operative lung and improves surgical visualization when passive collapse is incomplete.

Question 3

A bronchial blocker is preferred over a double-lumen tube in which clinical scenario?

Accepted Answer

Patient with a difficult airway already intubated with a size 7.5 single-lumen tube

Answer

A bronchial blocker can be advanced through an existing single-lumen ETT under fiberoptic guidance, avoiding the need to exchange to a larger tube in a difficult airway.

Question 4

The phenomenon of 'auto-PEEP' during one-lung ventilation is most commonly caused by:

Accepted Answer

Inadequate expiratory time leading to air trapping

Answer

Auto-PEEP (intrinsic PEEP) develops when the next breath begins before full exhalation, trapping gas and increasing end-expiratory lung volume, particularly in COPD patients.

Question 5

Which parameter best predicts postoperative pulmonary complications after lung resection?

Accepted Answer

Diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO)

Answer

DLCO reflects gas exchange surface area and pulmonary vascular reserve; predicted postoperative DLCO <40% correlates strongly with postoperative morbidity and mortality.

EDAIC - European Diploma in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Practice Test

EDAIC - European Diploma in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Practice Test

EDAIC Respiratory and Thoracic Anesthesia 3