The technician is often the person watching the monitor while the veterinarian operates. Knowing what each reading means, and what to do when it changes, is the core of safe anesthesia.
3 sample Anesthesia questions
Try each one before opening the answer. These come straight from the VetTech Pro question bank.
Question 1. What does a pulse oximeter actually measure?
AThe partial pressure of oxygen dissolved in arterial plasma
BThe total oxygen content of arterial and venous blood combined
CThe hemoglobin concentration in the capillary blood flowing beneath the probe site
DThe percentage of hemoglobin saturated with oxygen in pulsatile arterial blood
Show answer and rationale
Answer: D. The percentage of hemoglobin saturated with oxygen in pulsatile arterial blood
It reports saturation, not content. A severely anemic patient can read 99% while carrying dangerously little oxygen, because the small amount of hemoglobin present is fully saturated.
Question 2. The reservoir bag collapses progressively during anesthesia. What is the most likely cause?
AA pop-off valve left closed, trapping gas within the circuit
BA circuit leak, inadequate fresh gas flow, or a cuff that is not sealing
CExcessive fresh gas flow that overwhelms the active scavenging system and empties the bag
DExhausted soda lime absorbing too much of the gas
Show answer and rationale
Answer: B. A circuit leak, inadequate fresh gas flow, or a cuff that is not sealing
Gas is escaping faster than it is being supplied. Checking the cuff seal, all connections and the fresh gas flow in sequence identifies it; a closed pop-off would cause the opposite problem of a distending bag and rising pressure.
Question 3. Why can a patient re-sedate after naloxone reversal of an opioid?
AIt is metabolized into an opioid agonist in the liver
BRe-sedation never occurs after naloxone, so another cause is present
CNaloxone is shorter-acting than many opioids, so effects return as it wears off
DNaloxone itself potentiates the opioid after about an hour
Show answer and rationale
Answer: C. Naloxone is shorter-acting than many opioids, so effects return as it wears off
Naloxone can be cleared before a long-acting opioid such as morphine or hydromorphone, allowing renarcotization. Patients reversed with naloxone must therefore be observed rather than assumed to be safely awake.
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