Risk Assessment & Mitigation Flashcards
7 cards from real CET practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Risk Assessment & Mitigation flashcards as text
A patient undergoing dobutamine stress echo develops new regional wall motion abnormalities at low dose (10 mcg/kg/min). This finding indicates:
Answer: High-risk ischemia requiring immediate test termination and physician evaluation
New wall motion abnormalities at low dobutamine doses suggest severe underlying coronary artery disease and represent a high-risk endpoint requiring test termination.
Before administering an ultrasound contrast agent, the sonographer verifies that resuscitation equipment is available. This is required because contrast agents carry a risk of:
Answer: Anaphylactoid reactions including severe bronchospasm or cardiovascular collapse
FDA labeling for ultrasound contrast agents mandates that resuscitation equipment be available due to the rare but serious risk of cardiopulmonary reactions.
A patient on anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation is scheduled for TEE. The INR result returns at 4.8. The sonographer should:
Answer: Notify the ordering physician before proceeding, as the INR exceeds the safe procedural threshold
An INR >3.5 is generally considered above the safe threshold for TEE; the physician must be informed to decide whether to proceed or correct coagulation first.
During a TEE exam, the patient's oxygen saturation drops from 97% to 88% over two minutes. The MOST appropriate response is:
Answer: Remove the probe, reposition the patient, provide supplemental oxygen, and notify the physician
A significant drop in SpO2 during TEE may indicate airway compromise or laryngospasm requiring immediate probe removal and airway management.
In a patient with known latex allergy presenting for echocardiography, which item in the echo lab most commonly contains latex and must be substituted?
Answer: Gloves used during probe handling and patient contact
Latex gloves remain the most common source of latex exposure in the echo lab; latex-free gloves must be used for all contact with latex-allergic patients.
A sonographer identifies a large intracardiac mass that appears highly mobile on a routine TTE. The correct risk-mitigation step is to:
Answer: Immediately notify the interpreting cardiologist of the finding before the patient leaves the department
A mobile intracardiac mass poses an immediate embolic risk and constitutes a critical finding requiring real-time physician notification before patient discharge.
Which statement BEST describes the role of a sonographer in obtaining informed consent for TEE?
Answer: The sonographer explains the procedure but the physician obtains and documents formal informed consent
Informed consent for invasive procedures like TEE must be obtained by the supervising physician; sonographers may provide procedural education but not serve as the consenting provider.