Practice Test Geeks(FANZCA) Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Practice Test
← All FANZCA Flashcard Decks

Assessment and Evaluation 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 Assessment and Evaluation flashcards as text

  1. Which scoring system is most appropriate for assessing postoperative pain in a non-verbal adult patient in the ICU?

    Answer: Behavioural Pain Scale (BPS)

    The Behavioural Pain Scale (BPS) uses observable behaviours such as facial expression, upper limb movements, and compliance with ventilation to assess pain in non-verbal ICU patients.

  2. When performing a pre-anaesthetic assessment, which feature of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) most increases perioperative risk?

    Answer: Apnoea-Hypopnoea Index (AHI) > 30 events/hour

    A high AHI (>30 events/hour) indicates severe OSA and is most directly associated with increased perioperative risk including difficult airway, hypoxia, and cardiovascular complications.

  3. A 68-year-old patient is scheduled for elective total hip replacement. Which preoperative assessment tool best predicts postoperative delirium risk?

    Answer: Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) baseline

    Baseline cognitive assessment using tools such as CAM or the Mini-Mental State Examination identifies pre-existing cognitive impairment, which is the strongest independent predictor of postoperative delirium.

  4. Which intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring modality is most useful for detecting ischaemia in the spinal cord during descending thoracic aortic surgery?

    Answer: Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs)

    MEPs monitor the integrity of the corticospinal (motor) tract and are more sensitive than SSEPs for detecting anterior spinal cord ischaemia during aortic surgery.

  5. A patient undergoing shoulder arthroscopy in the beach-chair position develops sudden bradycardia and hypotension. Which monitor would have provided the earliest warning?

    Answer: Cerebral oximetry (NIRS)

    Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) cerebral oximetry can detect cerebral hypoperfusion early in the beach-chair position, often before haemodynamic collapse is apparent on standard monitors.

  6. In the FANZCA examination context, which criterion is part of the Apfel score for predicting postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV)?

    Answer: History of PONV or motion sickness

    The Apfel simplified risk score includes: female sex, history of PONV or motion sickness, non-smoking status, and use of postoperative opioids.

  7. Which method most accurately determines fluid responsiveness in a mechanically ventilated patient with normal sinus rhythm?

    Answer: Passive leg raise with cardiac output measurement

    Passive leg raise (PLR) combined with real-time cardiac output measurement is the most reliable dynamic test for fluid responsiveness as it is independent of ventilator settings and valid in arrhythmias.