FANZCA Safety and Compliance 5

Question 1

Under ANZCA PS09, which of the following patients requires the continuous physical presence of an anaesthetist or anaesthetic assistant throughout the procedure?

Accepted Answer

Any patient undergoing general, regional, or sedation anaesthesia administered by an anaesthetist

Answer

A patient receiving local anaesthetic infiltration only by the surgeon

Answer

Only ASA III and above patients undergoing major surgery

Answer

Only paediatric patients under 12 years of age

Question 2

A patient with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is prescribed postoperative opioid analgesia. The most appropriate safety measure is:

Accepted Answer

Use continuous pulse oximetry monitoring, minimise opioid dose, and consider multimodal analgesia

Answer

Administer standard opioid doses as OSA does not affect opioid sensitivity

Answer

Discharge immediately after surgery to avoid hospital-acquired infections

Answer

Administer CPAP only during sleep and withhold opioids entirely

Question 3

The principal purpose of an anaesthetic drug trolley 'standardised layout' policy is to:

Accepted Answer

Decrease the risk of drug errors by ensuring consistent drug placement across all theatres

Answer

Reduce the cost of anaesthetic drug procurement

Answer

Allow non-anaesthetic staff to draw up drugs unsupervised

Answer

Enable faster induction by eliminating the need to read drug labels

Question 4

Which of the following is a recognised risk factor for perioperative anaphylaxis specifically associated with anaesthesia?

Accepted Answer

Neuromuscular blocking agents, latex, and certain antibiotics administered intraoperatively

Answer

Previous uneventful exposure to the same neuromuscular blocking agent

Answer

A history of seasonal allergic rhinitis without drug allergy

Answer

Routine preoperative paracetamol administration

Question 5

In the recovery room, a patient develops stridor 30 minutes after extubation. The most likely cause in the early post-extubation period is:

Accepted Answer

Laryngospasm or laryngeal oedema due to airway trauma or residual irritants

Answer

Pulmonary oedema

Answer

Bronchospasm from aspiration pneumonitis

Answer

Tension pneumothorax from central line insertion

Question 6

Regarding waste anaesthetic gas (WAG) exposure in the operating theatre, which measure is most effective at reducing staff exposure?

Accepted Answer

Use of properly functioning scavenging systems connected to the anaesthetic machine

Answer

Wearing a standard surgical mask during all anaesthetic procedures

Answer

Limiting total anaesthetic time to under 60 minutes per case

Answer

Performing all anaesthetics in negative-pressure isolation rooms

Question 7

When obtaining informed consent for anaesthesia, which of the following represents the current Australian legal standard following Rogers v Whitaker (1992)?

Accepted Answer

Disclose risks that a reasonable patient in the individual patient's position would want to know

Answer

Disclose only risks that a reasonable anaesthetist would consider significant

Answer

Only disclose risks with an incidence greater than 1%

Answer

Verbal consent is legally equivalent to written consent for all anaesthetic procedures