Practice Test Geeks(FANZCA) Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Practice Test
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Practice and Application Flashcards

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

Read the first 7 Practice and Application flashcards as text

  1. A patient develops bronchospasm intraoperatively with SpO2 falling to 88%. Initial management includes 100% O2 and deepening anaesthesia. What is the next pharmacological step?

    Answer: Salbutamol via MDI through the breathing circuit

    Inhaled salbutamol delivered via metered-dose inhaler through the circuit is the first-line bronchodilator for intraoperative bronchospasm.

  2. Which coagulation test best reflects the integrity of the extrinsic pathway and is used to monitor warfarin therapy?

    Answer: Prothrombin time / INR

    The prothrombin time (expressed as INR) measures the extrinsic pathway (factor VII) and is the standard monitor for warfarin anticoagulation.

  3. A patient undergoing total hip arthroplasty under spinal anaesthesia develops sudden hypotension, tachycardia, and bronchospasm after bone cement insertion. What is the most likely diagnosis?

    Answer: Bone cement implantation syndrome

    Bone cement implantation syndrome occurs when cement monomers and fat embolise from the femoral canal during pressurisation, causing hypotension, hypoxia, and arrhythmias.

  4. In managing a patient with raised intracranial pressure intraoperatively, which ventilation target is most appropriate?

    Answer: PaCO2 30–35 mmHg as a temporising measure

    Mild hyperventilation to PaCO2 30–35 mmHg is used as a short-term ICP-lowering manoeuvre; sustained hypocapnia below 30 mmHg causes ischaemic vasoconstriction.

  5. A 30-year-old woman at 32 weeks gestation requires emergency appendicectomy. Which position best prevents aortocaval compression during surgery?

    Answer: 15–30° left lateral tilt

    A 15–30° left lateral tilt displaces the gravid uterus off the inferior vena cava and aorta, maintaining maternal cardiac output and uteroplacental perfusion.

  6. What is the primary mechanism by which volatile anaesthetic agents cause a reduction in systemic vascular resistance?

    Answer: Inhibition of vascular smooth muscle calcium channels

    Volatile agents reduce SVR predominantly by inhibiting calcium influx through L-type voltage-gated calcium channels in vascular smooth muscle, causing direct vasodilation.

  7. A patient undergoing thoracotomy has a double-lumen tube placed. Fibreoptic bronchoscopy shows the left upper lobe bronchus is partially obstructed by the tube cuff. What is the correct adjustment?

    Answer: Withdraw the tube 1–2 cm until the cuff clears the left upper lobe orifice

    A left-sided DLT positioned too deep will obstruct the left upper lobe bronchus; withdrawal of 1–2 cm under fibreoptic guidance repositions the cuff below the carina.