Regional Flashcards
A 40-year-old man who is scheduled to undergo repair of a tendon laceration of the left hand has complete anesthesia in the median, radial, and ulnar nerve distributions after supraclavicular block. Two hours of tourniquet inflation are required for completion of the procedure. The most appropriate next step is an additional block of which of the following?
(A) Axillary nerve
(B) Intercostobrachial nerve
(C) Lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve
(D) Musculocutaneous nerve
(E) Stellate ganglion
Intercostobrachial nerve
A 65-year-old woman has respiratory distress and loss of consciousness immediately following superficial and deep cervical plexus block for right carotid endarterectomy. Which of the following is the most likely cause?
(A) Phrenic nerve paralysis
(B) Pneumothorax
(C) Recurrent laryngeal nerve block
(D) Subarachnoid injection
(E) Vertebral artery injection
Subarachnoid Injection
A 70-year-old man with stable angina is scheduled for cataract removal with a retrobulbar block. After injection of 5 ml of 0.75% bupivacaine, heart rate decreases from 90 to 55 bpm, and frequent premature ventricular contractions are noted on the EKG. These changes are most likely caused by
(A) intravascular injection of bupivacaine
(B) subarachnoid injection of bupivacaine
(C) myocardial ischemia
(D) oculocardiac reflex
(E) retrobulbar hemorrhage
Oculocardiac Reflex
A 75-year-old man in the PACU complains of severe pain following thoracotomy. Respiratory rate is 30/min; arterial blood gas values are PaO2 70 mmHg, PaCO2 56 mmHg, and pH 7.28 at an FiO2 of 0.6. The patient has a thoracic epidural catheter and received epidural morphine 2 mg 45 minutes earlier. Which of the following is the most appropriate immediate management?
(A) Intravenous administration of naloxone
(B) Epidural administration of additional morphine
(C) Epidural administration of 0.125% bupivacaine
(D) Epidural administration of fentanyl
(E) Intubation of the trachea
Epidural administration of 0.125% bupivacaine
A patient has seizure activity 30 seconds after injection of 0.25% bupivacaine 2 ml with epinephrine 1:200,000 for stellate ganglion block. The most likely cause is
(A) reaction to epinephrine in the anesthetic solution
(B) anaphylactoid reaction to bupivacaine
(C) subarachnoid injection of bupivacaine
(D) peridural venous injection of bupivacaine
(E) vertebral artery injection of bupivacaine
vertebral artery injection of bupivacaine
A patient receiving monoamine oxidase inhibitor therapy for depression undergoes an emergency cholecystectomy. Which of the following is the best means of providing postoperative analgesia in this patient?
(A) Epidural analgesia using 0.25% bupivacaine
(B) Intravenous meperidine
(C) Epidural analgesia using meperidine
(D) Epidural analgesia using 1% lidocaine with epinephrine
(E) Intercostal analgesia using 1% lidocaine with epinephrine
Epidural analgesia using 0.25% bupivacaine
A woman has weakness of the right quadriceps and a decreased knee jerk reflex on the right one day after forceps delivery under epidural anesthesia. The most likely cause is
(A) epidural hematoma
(B) intrapelvic nerve trauma
(C) lithotomy positioning
(D) reaction to the preservative in the anesthetic solution
(E) trauma from the epidural needle
Intrapelvic nerve trauma
After an axillary brachial plexus block, the patient feels pain when the surgeon clips the skin over the thenar eminence. The most likely cause is inadequate anesthesia in the distribution of the _____
median nerve
After receiving an axillary block for carpal tunnel release, a patient has pain on incision. Which of the following nerves should be blocked at the level of the elbow to relieve the pain?
(A) Intercostobrachial
(B) Median
(C) Musculocutaneous
(D) Radial
(E) Ulnar
median
An 18-year-old woman has knee pain during arthroscopy performed with femoral and sciatic nerve blocks for repair of a torn medial meniscus. The most appropriate management is addition of which of the following nerve blocks?
(A) Deep peroneal
(B) Obturator
(C) Popliteal
(D) Saphenous
(E) Superficial peroneal
Obturator
Block of each of the following nerves is required for inguinal herniorrhaphy EXCEPT the
(A) genitofemoral
(B) iliohypogastric
(C) ilioinguinal
(D) obturator
(E) twelfth thoracic
Obturator
Which nerve directly originates in the lateral cord and supplies motor function to the flexors of the upper arm and sensation to part of the forearm’s skin?
Musculocutaneous nerve
Following completion of an ankle block, the patient reports intact sensation on the tips of the toes. Which nerve was blocked inadequately?
posterior tibial
In a patient receiving an epidural analgesic infusion postoperatively, clear fluid is noted to drip back freely from the epidural catheter. Each of the following findings correctly identifies the associated fluid EXCEPT
(A) precipitation when mixed with an equal volume of thiopental — local anesthetic
(B) pH 7.1— saline solution
(C) glucose 55 mg/dl - CSF
(D) sodium 150 mEq/L - CSF
(E) PCO2 51 mmHg - CSF
pH 7.1 - saline solution
Prompt control of seizures induced by bupivacaine is necessary because ______
ventilaiton may be impaired
The physiologic function most likely to be spared when a local anesthetic differential nerve block is administered is
proprioception
These two nerve branches also originate in the medial cord and supply sensation to the medial side of the upper arm and forearm.
medial cutaneous
Two months ago a 68-year-old man with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus had a transurethral resection of the prostate under spinal anesthesia with tetracaine plus epinephrine. He now has numbness and tingling in both feet and disturbance of gait. Physical examination demonstrates stocking-type hypesthesia of both feet and ankles. The most likely diagnosis is
(A) anterior spinal artery syndrome
(B) diabetic neuropathy
(C) adhesive arachnoiditis
(D) cauda equina syndrome
(E) peripheral nerve injury from the lithotomy position
Diabetic Neuropathy
What section of the brachial plexus is named according to their position to the axillary artery?
cords
(lateral, medial, and posterior)
What is the most likely sequela of interscalene brachial plexus block?
hemidiaphragmatic paralysis
Which landmarks are used in performing a wrist block for surgery on the fourth digit?
- ulnar artery
- palmaris longus tendon
- flexor carpi radialis tendon
- flexor carpi ulnaris tendon
Which nerve originates directly in the medial cord and innervates the motor unit of various flexors in the forearm, parts of the hand muscles and sensory parts of the back of the hand, palm and fingers I-IV
Ulnar
Which nerve originates in the posterior cord and partially innervates the motor unit of the shoulder girdle muscles and supplies sensation to the shoulder’s skin
Axillary
Which nerve originates in the posterior cord and innervates the motor unit of all extensors in the arm and parts of the hand muscles, and supplies sensation to the dorsal side of the arm.
Radial
Which nerve originates where fibers of the lateral and medial cords come together and innervates the motor unit of various flexors in the forearm and some hand muscles and gives sensation to the palm and parts of the fingers I-IV
Median
Which of the following is characteristic of low back pain associated with myofascial pain syndrome but not of pain associated with a herniated lumbar disk?
(A) Loss of reflexes in the lower extremities
(B) Pain along the distribution of nerve roots
(C) Responsiveness to epidural corticosteroids
(D) Sensitivity to injection at trigger points
(E) Trophic alteration in the sympathetic nervous system
Sensitivity to injection at trigger points
Which of the following statements about patient-controlled analgesia using opioids is true?
(A) It is not associated with respiratory depression
(B) It obviates loading doses
(C) It requires a background opioid infusion to be effective
(D) It requires intravenous administration to be effective
(E) It requires less drug than intramuscular dosing for similar analgesia
it requires less drug than intramuscular dosing for similar analgesia
Which of the following statements concerning interscalene brachial plexus block is true?
(A) The three trunks of the plexus are in the same fascial plane as the internal jugular vein
(B) Distal spread of anesthetic past the humeral head is accelerated by adduction of the arm
(C) Anesthetic solution can spread up the fascial sheaths to involve the stellate ganglion
(D) Ipsilateral diaphragmatic paralysis results from epidural spread
(E) Rich vascularity in the sheaths promotes rapid vascular uptake of anesthetic
Anesthetic solution can spread up the fascial sheaths to involve the stellate ganglion
Which of the following statements concerning the use of epidural anesthesia for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is true?
(A) Adequate anesthesia can be obtained with fentanyl alone
(B) Anesthesia decreases the incidence of hypothermia
(C) Anesthesia decreases the incidence of ventricular dysrhythmias
(D) Anesthesia is unnecessary in paraplegics with absence of sensation below T4
(E) “Loss of resistance” should be performed with fluids rather than air
“loss of resistance” should be performed with fluids rather than air
With an interscalene brachial plexus block:
(A) more local anesthetic drug is required than for axillary block
(B) the biceps and brachialis muscles are blocked last
(C) the intercostobrachial nerve is usually blocked
(D) the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve is usually spared
(E) the ulnar nerve is most likely to be spared
the ulnar nerve is most likely to be spared
A patient has seizure activity 30 seconds after injection of 0.25% bupivacaine 2 ml with epinephrine 1:200,000 for stellate ganglion block. The most likely cause is
(A) reaction to epinephrine in the anesthetic solution
(B) anaphylactoid reaction to bupivacaine
(C) subarachnoid injection of bupivacaine
(D) peridural venous injection of bupivacaine
(E) vertebral artery injection of bupivacaine
vertebral artery injection of bupivacaine
Block of the superficial cervical plexus is performed at _____
the midposterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle
A 28-year-old woman receives a lumbar epidural anesthetic for uncomplicated labor and delivery. During removal of the catheter, 1 cm breaks off and remains in her back. After informing the patient, the most appropriate management is
(A) no intervention unless symptoms occur
(B) prophylactic antibiotics
(C) epidural corticosteroids
(D) dye contrast study of the epidural space
(E) neurosurgical exploration
no intervention unless symptoms occur
When performed with identical doses, what type of regional block is associated with the highest plasma concentration of the drug?
intercostal
Which nerve is most likely to be injured by a fracture of the shaft of the humerus?
radial