Emergency Procedures Flashcards

An oxygen-enriched environment is detected in a patient room due to an undetected leak. Which fire hazard precaution is MOST critical?

Answer: Remove all ignition sources including electrical equipment and prohibit smoking

Oxygen-enriched atmospheres dramatically accelerate fire ignition and spread; removing all ignition sources is the most critical immediate precaution.

During a mass casualty incident, the medical air system is insufficient to support the surge in ventilator demand. Which backup strategy is NFPA 99-compliant?

Answer: Deploy NFPA 99-compliant reserve cylinders of medical air and notify all clinical staff

NFPA 99 permits reserve cylinder supply as an emergency backup; only medical-grade compressed air may be used for patients, and staff must be notified of the supply change.

A source alarm for 'Medical Vacuum Low' appears during a shift change. The on-coming RMGA finds one of two vacuum pumps is offline. What is the correct escalation path?

Answer: Immediately attempt to restore the offline pump and notify clinical leadership of the reduced redundancy

Restoring the offline pump restores full redundancy, and notifying clinical leadership ensures preparedness if vacuum levels drop further during repair.

A medical gas area alarm activates showing 'Oxygen Low Pressure' for the NICU. The RMGA verifies the zone valve is open and the source pressure is adequate. What is the most likely cause?

Answer: Excessive demand in the NICU is exceeding line capacity or a pressure regulator has failed closed

When source pressure is adequate and the valve is open, low zone pressure indicates either demand exceeding line capacity or a failed-closed downstream pressure regulator.

Following an emergency repair of a medical gas pipeline, which test must be completed per NFPA 99 before the system is returned to service?

Answer: Cross-connection testing, purity testing, and pressure testing per NFPA 99 Section 5.1

NFPA 99 mandates cross-connection, purity, and pressure verification tests after any pipeline repair to ensure patient safety before restoration.

A facility is transitioning from liquid oxygen to cylinder manifold supply during a scheduled bulk tank maintenance. What must the RMGA verify before allowing clinical use?

Answer: That the manifold is properly connected, regulators are set, purity is confirmed, and clinical areas are notified of the supply change

A verified connection, proper regulator settings, confirmed gas purity, and clinical staff notification are all required before returning patients to the alternate supply.

An RMGA responds to an alarm indicating that medical air dew point has exceeded the maximum permitted level. What is the primary patient safety risk?

Answer: Moisture in the medical air lines can damage ventilators and deliver contaminated air to patients

Excessive moisture in medical air can damage ventilators, cause bacterial growth, and deliver contaminated air to patients, making dew point control a critical patient safety parameter.