Practice Test Geeks(PSA) Prescribing Safety Assessment Practice Test
← All PSA Flashcard Decks

Medication Safety Flashcards

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

Read the first 7 Medication Safety flashcards as text

  1. A patient stabilized on warfarin is prescribed ibuprofen for knee pain. What is the most significant safety concern?

    Answer: Increased bleeding risk due to combined antiplatelet effects and GI irritation

    NSAIDs like ibuprofen potentiate warfarin's anticoagulant effect and independently inhibit platelet aggregation, significantly increasing the risk of serious bleeding.

  2. Which drug combination carries the highest risk of causing serotonin syndrome?

    Answer: Fluoxetine and tramadol

    Tramadol inhibits serotonin reuptake and, when combined with an SSRI like fluoxetine, can cause life-threatening serotonin syndrome.

  3. An elderly patient on lisinopril is started on spironolactone for heart failure. Which electrolyte disturbance requires immediate monitoring?

    Answer: Hyperkalemia

    Both ACE inhibitors and potassium-sparing diuretics like spironolactone reduce potassium excretion, creating a high risk of dangerous hyperkalemia.

  4. Why should metformin be withheld before administration of iodinated contrast media?

    Answer: Contrast-induced nephropathy can lead to metformin accumulation and lactic acidosis

    If contrast causes acute kidney injury, metformin cannot be cleared and accumulates to levels that can cause life-threatening lactic acidosis.

  5. A patient on simvastatin 40 mg daily is prescribed clarithromycin for a respiratory infection. What is the primary concern?

    Answer: Myopathy or rhabdomyolysis due to elevated simvastatin levels

    Clarithromycin is a potent CYP3A4 inhibitor that dramatically increases simvastatin plasma levels, raising the risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis.

  6. A patient on digoxin presents with bradycardia, nausea, and reports seeing yellow-green halos around lights. What is the most likely explanation?

    Answer: Digoxin toxicity

    Classic digoxin toxicity presents with bradycardia or arrhythmias, gastrointestinal symptoms, and characteristic xanthopsia (yellow-green visual disturbances).

  7. Which drug combination is most likely to cause dangerous QT interval prolongation?

    Answer: Haloperidol and azithromycin

    Both haloperidol and azithromycin independently prolong the QT interval; combining them significantly increases the risk of Torsades de Pointes.