Which of the following statements concerning the pharmacokinetics of nondepolarizing muscle relaxants is true?
(A) Drugs with a longer duration of action depend on the liver for excretion
(B) Drugs with a shorter duration of action depend primarily on redistribution for recovery
(C) Onset of action is independent of dose
(D) Recovery rate parallels the decrease in plasma relaxant concentration
(E) The shorter the duration of action, the faster the onset
D
Which of the following processes is primarily responsible for the decrease in core body temperature that occurs during the first hour of general anesthesia?
(A) Decreased production of heat
(B) Convective heat loss caused by cutaneous vasodilation
(C) Evaporative heat loss during skin preparation
(D) Heat loss from the respiratory tract
(E) Redistribution of core body heat to the periphery
During general anesthesia, a patient has the acute onset of atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response and hypotension to 50 mmHg systolic. The most appropriate treatment is
In an adult undergoing laparotomy, which of the following is the most effective means of maintaining body temperature during the first hour of anesthesia?
(A) Increasing ambient temperature
(B) Using a warming blanket
(C) Warming inspired gases
(D) Warming intravenous fluids
(E) Warming irrigating fluids
A
A 72-year-old man has had residual hemiparesis since having a cerebrovascular accident three years ago. Compared with the response of the unaffected limbs to nondepolarizing muscle relaxants, the hemiparetic limbs will show
(A) the same response
(B) greater depression of tetanus
(C) greater twitch depression
(D) less twitch depression
(E) less post-tetanic facilitation
D
After weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass following mitral valve replacement, a patient's cardiac output is reported to be 3.7 L/min measured by thermodilution technique using 5% dextrose in water 10 ml at room temperature as injec-tate. This value could be falsely high if