Pediatric CCRN Cardiovascular Flashcards
6 cards from real Pediatric CCRN Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Pediatric CCRN Cardiovascular flashcards as text
A 6-month-old with Tetralogy of Fallot develops a sudden hypercyanotic (tet) spell. What is the FIRST intervention?
Answer: Place the infant in the knee-chest position
The knee-chest position increases systemic vascular resistance and decreases right-to-left shunting, immediately improving oxygenation during a tet spell.
Which congenital heart defect produces a continuous 'machinery' murmur best heard at the left upper sternal border?
Answer: Patent ductus arteriosus
A patent ductus arteriosus produces a continuous machinery-type murmur because blood flows through it in both systole and diastole.
A neonate post-cardiac surgery has a central venous pressure of 18 mmHg, decreased urine output, and hepatomegaly. These findings are MOST consistent with:
Answer: Right ventricular failure
Elevated CVP, hepatomegaly, and oliguria indicate right-sided heart failure with systemic venous congestion following cardiac surgery.
Which medication is the drug of choice to close a hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus in a premature neonate?
Answer: Indomethacin
Indomethacin, a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor (NSAID), promotes ductal closure by reducing prostaglandin E2, which normally keeps the ductus open.
A child with a large ventricular septal defect is at greatest risk for developing which complication over time if left unrepaired?
Answer: Eisenmenger syndrome
Chronic left-to-right shunting from a large VSD causes pulmonary hypertension; when pulmonary pressure exceeds systemic, Eisenmenger syndrome (reversal of shunt) develops.
What does a Qp:Qs ratio greater than 2:1 indicate in a child with a cardiac shunt?
Answer: Significant left-to-right shunting requiring intervention
A Qp:Qs >2:1 means pulmonary flow is more than twice systemic flow, indicating significant left-to-right shunting that typically warrants surgical or catheter-based correction.
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