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 with a mechanical mitral valve prosthesis is referred for TEE. Which risk factor requires the most urgent pre-procedure evaluation?
Answer: Known esophageal varices
Esophageal varices are a contraindication to TEE due to risk of rupture and life-threatening hemorrhage during probe insertion.
During a stress echocardiogram, a patient develops sustained ventricular tachycardia at peak exercise. The FIRST action the sonographer should take is:
Answer: Stop the test and notify the supervising physician immediately
Sustained VT during stress echo is a class I indication to terminate the test; the physician must be notified immediately to manage the arrhythmia.
Which hemodynamic parameter during TEE monitoring most reliably signals impending hemodynamic collapse?
Answer: Progressive hypotension with rising heart rate
Falling blood pressure accompanied by compensatory tachycardia indicates cardiovascular decompensation requiring immediate intervention.
A patient being prepared for TEE discloses they took clopidogrel this morning. The PRIMARY concern this raises is:
Answer: Increased bleeding risk if esophageal injury occurs
Clopidogrel inhibits platelet aggregation, meaning any mucosal trauma from TEE probe insertion carries heightened hemorrhage risk.
When performing echocardiography on a patient with suspected cardiac tamponade, which finding should prompt the operator to alert the team for possible emergent pericardiocentesis?
Answer: Right ventricular diastolic collapse with respiratory variation in mitral inflow >25%
RV diastolic collapse combined with significant respiratory variation in Doppler inflow velocities indicates hemodynamically significant tamponade physiology.
A sonographer notes that the transducer has a small crack in its housing after an exam. The appropriate action is to:
Answer: Remove it from service, tag it, and report it to biomedical engineering
A cracked transducer housing poses electrical safety and infection control hazards and must be immediately removed from service per accreditation standards.
Which patient condition represents a RELATIVE contraindication (rather than absolute) to performing a standard transthoracic echocardiogram?
Answer: Severe chest wall deformity limiting acoustic windows
Severe chest deformity makes imaging difficult and suboptimal but does not absolutely prohibit TTE, whereas active life-threatening arrhythmias require immediate resuscitation first.