Anaesthesia flashcards for NEET PG
79 cards. Read the question, answer in your head, then check. For spaced repetition, study the deck in the app.
What this deck is for
These 79 cards pick out single facts in Anaesthesia that the exam keeps returning to: Complications, Intravenous anaesthetics, Local anaesthetics, Airway assessment, Inhalational anaesthetics, Airway and more. Make a table of each agent, its key advantage and its main side effect. Cards are a starting set, not full coverage of the subject; the study guide lists the full map.
Where students slip in Anaesthesia: Mixing up depolarising and non-depolarising drugs. Read the Anaesthesia study guide.
1 · Complications
Treatment of malignant hyperthermia?
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Dantrolene (blocks ryanodine receptor); stop triggers, 100% O₂, cooling.
Memory hook: Triggers: volatile agents, succinylcholine.
2 · Intravenous anaesthetics
Which induction agent raises heart rate and BP?
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Ketamine, through sympathetic stimulation.
Memory hook: Useful in shock; avoid in raised ICP.
3 · Local anaesthetics
Most cardiotoxic local anaesthetic and its rescue?
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Bupivacaine; intravenous lipid emulsion.
Memory hook: Lipid rescue.
4 · Airway assessment
Mallampati classes?
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I: soft palate, uvula, pillars. II: soft palate and uvula. III: soft palate and base of uvula. IV: hard palate only.
Memory hook: Higher class, harder airway.
5 · Inhalational anaesthetics
Relation between MAC and potency?
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Inversely related: lower MAC means a more potent agent.
Memory hook: Halothane 0.75; desflurane 6.
6 · Airway
What is the purpose of Sellick's manoeuvre?
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Cricoid pressure to occlude the oesophagus and reduce regurgitation during rapid sequence induction.
Memory hook: Evidence for benefit is debated.
7 · Pre-operative care
What are the standard pre-operative fasting times?
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About 6 hours for solids and 2 hours for clear fluids.
Memory hook: Longer fasting does not make it safer.
8 · Neuromuscular blockers
Which relaxants does sugammadex reverse?
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Rocuronium and vecuronium (aminosteroid blockers).
Memory hook: Neostigmine for the rest.
9 · Regional anaesthesia
Why is an epidural test dose given with adrenaline?
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To detect inadvertent intravascular injection, which causes tachycardia.
Memory hook: Intrathecal injection causes a rapid spinal block.
10 · General anaesthesia
What are the components of general anaesthesia?
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Hypnosis (unconsciousness), analgesia, muscle relaxation and amnesia, with attenuated reflexes.
Memory hook: Balanced anaesthesia combines agents.
11 · Preoperative assessment
What is the ASA physical status for a patient with severe systemic disease that limits activity but is not incapacitating?
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ASA III.
Memory hook: I healthy, II mild, III severe, IV constant threat to life.
12 · Preoperative assessment
Which ASA class is a patient with severe systemic disease that is a constant threat to life?
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ASA IV.
Memory hook: Example: recent MI with ongoing ischaemia.
13 · Preoperative assessment
Which thyromental distance predicts a difficult laryngoscopy?
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A distance shorter than about 6.5 cm (roughly three fingerbreadths).
Memory hook: Short jaw, anterior larynx.
14 · Preoperative assessment
How is the Mallampati test performed?
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Patient sitting, mouth fully open, tongue fully protruded, without phonation.
Memory hook: Phonation can falsely improve the view.
15 · Preoperative assessment
Which pre-operative fasting time applies to breast milk in infants?
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About 4 hours.
Memory hook: Clear fluids 2 h, breast milk 4 h, light meal 6 h.
16 · Preoperative assessment
Which premedicant is a non-particulate antacid used to raise gastric pH before surgery?
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Sodium citrate.
Memory hook: Particulate antacids can themselves harm the lungs if aspirated.
17 · Preoperative assessment
Should chronic beta-blocker therapy be continued before surgery?
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Yes. Abrupt withdrawal risks rebound tachycardia and ischaemia.
18 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Which IV induction agent suppresses adrenal steroid synthesis even after a single dose?
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Etomidate, by inhibiting 11-beta-hydroxylase.
Memory hook: Haemodynamically stable but adrenal-suppressive.
19 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Main side effect of propofol at injection?
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Pain on injection, reduced by lignocaine or a larger vein.
Memory hook: Also has antiemetic effect.
20 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Which complication follows prolonged high-dose propofol infusion?
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Propofol infusion syndrome: metabolic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis, cardiac failure.
21 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Which induction agent is contraindicated in acute intermittent porphyria?
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Thiopentone (barbiturates), which can precipitate an attack.
22 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
What happens with accidental intra-arterial thiopentone?
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Severe pain, vasospasm and possible gangrene, as crystals form in the artery.
Memory hook: Keep the cannula and give vasodilators or block.
23 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
What is the mechanism of ketamine?
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NMDA receptor antagonism, producing dissociative anaesthesia.
Memory hook: Emergence phenomena are reduced by benzodiazepines.
24 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Which drug reverses benzodiazepine sedation?
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Flumazenil, a competitive benzodiazepine antagonist.
Memory hook: Short half-life, so resedation can occur.
25 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
What is diffusion hypoxia?
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At the end of nitrous oxide anaesthesia, rapid N₂O outflow into alveoli dilutes oxygen; prevent with 100% oxygen for a few minutes.
26 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Why is nitrous oxide avoided in pneumothorax or bowel obstruction?
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It diffuses into closed gas-filled spaces faster than nitrogen leaves, expanding them.
27 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Which volatile agent is best for inhalational induction in children?
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Sevoflurane, being sweet-smelling and non-pungent.
28 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Which volatile agent has the lowest blood gas partition coefficient among commonly used ones?
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Desflurane (about 0.4), giving the fastest onset and recovery.
Memory hook: Needs a heated vaporiser.
29 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Why is desflurane unsuitable for inhalational induction?
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It is pungent and irritates the airway, causing cough and laryngospasm.
30 · Intravenous and inhalational agents
Which volatile agent is associated with immune-mediated hepatitis and sensitises the myocardium to catecholamines?
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Halothane.
31 · Muscle relaxants
What are the onset and duration of succinylcholine at a usual dose?
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Onset about 30 to 60 seconds; duration about 5 to 10 minutes.
Memory hook: Fastest and shortest.
32 · Muscle relaxants
How is succinylcholine broken down?
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By plasma (butyrylcholine) cholinesterase.
33 · Muscle relaxants
Which electrolyte disturbance can succinylcholine cause?
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Hyperkalaemia, with a rise of about 0.5 mEq/L normally, severe after burns or denervation.
34 · Muscle relaxants
Which patients should not receive succinylcholine because of exaggerated hyperkalaemia?
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Burns, crush injury, upper motor neuron lesions and prolonged immobilisation or denervation.
Memory hook: Up-regulated extrajunctional receptors.
35 · Muscle relaxants
What is the dibucaine number in a normal individual?
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About 80, meaning the enzyme is inhibited 80%; atypical enzyme gives about 20.
Memory hook: Used to detect abnormal cholinesterase.
36 · Muscle relaxants
Which relaxant is eliminated by Hofmann elimination?
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Atracurium and cisatracurium (organ-independent).
Memory hook: Useful in renal and hepatic failure.
37 · Muscle relaxants
Which breakdown product of atracurium can cause seizures?
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Laudanosine.
38 · Muscle relaxants
Which non-depolarising relaxant has the fastest onset?
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Rocuronium, an alternative to succinylcholine for rapid sequence induction.
39 · Muscle relaxants
Which relaxant causes tachycardia through vagolytic action and is renally excreted?
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Pancuronium.
40 · Muscle relaxants
What is the combination given to reverse non-depolarising block?
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Neostigmine with glycopyrrolate or atropine, to counter muscarinic effects.
41 · Muscle relaxants
How does a patient with myasthenia gravis respond to relaxants?
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Sensitive to non-depolarising agents and relatively resistant to succinylcholine.
42 · Muscle relaxants
What does fade on train-of-four stimulation indicate?
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Non-depolarising (or phase II) block.
Memory hook: Depolarising phase I shows no fade.
43 · Local and regional anaesthesia
What is the mechanism of local anaesthetics?
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Blockade of voltage-gated sodium channels from inside the cell, preventing depolarisation.
44 · Local and regional anaesthesia
How are amide local anaesthetics metabolised?
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In the liver. Esters are hydrolysed by plasma pseudocholinesterase.
45 · Local and regional anaesthesia
Which metabolite of ester local anaesthetics causes allergy?
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Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA).
46 · Local and regional anaesthesia
Maximum safe dose of plain lignocaine for infiltration?
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About 4.5 mg/kg, and about 7 mg/kg with adrenaline.
47 · Local and regional anaesthesia
Which local anaesthetic causes methaemoglobinaemia and how is it treated?
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Prilocaine; treated with methylene blue.
48 · Local and regional anaesthesia
Which local anaesthetic also has intrinsic vasoconstrictor property?
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Cocaine.
49 · Local and regional anaesthesia
Earliest symptoms of local anaesthetic systemic toxicity?
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Perioral numbness, metallic taste and tinnitus, then seizures and cardiovascular collapse.
50 · Local and regional anaesthesia
What is the sequence of tissues crossed by a midline epidural needle?
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Skin, supraspinous and interspinous ligaments, then ligamentum flavum into the epidural space.
Memory hook: Loss of resistance marks entry.
51 · Local and regional anaesthesia
What is the order of block in spinal anaesthesia?
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Sympathetic first, then sensory, then motor; recovery occurs in reverse.
52 · Local and regional anaesthesia
Characteristic feature of post-dural puncture headache?
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Frontal or occipital headache worse on sitting or standing, relieved by lying flat.
53 · Local and regional anaesthesia
Definitive treatment of severe post-dural puncture headache?
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Epidural blood patch.
54 · Airway management
Standard of confirmation of endotracheal tube placement?
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Sustained end-tidal CO₂ waveform (capnography).
55 · Airway management
Where is the narrowest part of the airway in a child?
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At the cricoid ring (subglottic), unlike the glottis in adults.
56 · Airway management
Which airway device does not fully protect against aspiration?
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Laryngeal mask airway.
57 · Airway management
Contraindication to nasal airway or nasal intubation?
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Suspected base of skull fracture.
58 · Airway management
Site of emergency cricothyroidotomy?
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Cricothyroid membrane between thyroid and cricoid cartilages.
59 · Airway management
Technique of choice for a predicted difficult airway in a cooperative patient?
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Awake fibreoptic intubation.
60 · Airway management
First steps in managing laryngospasm?
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Remove stimulus, jaw thrust, 100% oxygen with CPAP; if persistent give a small dose of propofol or succinylcholine.
61 · Complications and emergencies
Earliest sign of malignant hyperthermia under anaesthesia?
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Unexplained rise in end-tidal CO₂ with tachycardia and masseter rigidity.
Memory hook: Temperature rises later.
62 · Complications and emergencies
Which gene defect underlies malignant hyperthermia?
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Ryanodine receptor (RYR1) mutation, autosomal dominant.
63 · Complications and emergencies
Drug of choice for perioperative anaphylaxis?
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Adrenaline, with oxygen, fluids and stopping the trigger.
64 · Complications and emergencies
Which factors raise the risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting?
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Female sex, non-smoker, previous PONV or motion sickness, postoperative opioids.
Memory hook: Apfel score.
65 · Complications and emergencies
Which drug class is first line for PONV prophylaxis?
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5-HT3 antagonists such as ondansetron, often with dexamethasone.
66 · Complications and emergencies
What is Mendelson syndrome?
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Chemical pneumonitis after aspiration of acidic gastric contents.
67 · Complications and emergencies
Sudden fall in end-tidal CO₂ during surgery suggests what?
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Venous air embolism, pulmonary embolism, circuit disconnection or cardiac arrest.
68 · Complications and emergencies
Characteristic murmur of venous air embolism?
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Mill-wheel murmur.
Memory hook: Treat by flooding the field, left lateral head-down position.
69 · Complications and emergencies
First-line drugs for hypotension after spinal anaesthesia?
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Intravenous fluid with a vasopressor such as phenylephrine or ephedrine.
70 · Basic resuscitation
What compression rate and depth is recommended in adult CPR?
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100 to 120 per minute, 5 to 6 cm deep.
Memory hook: Allow full recoil.
71 · Basic resuscitation
Where are hands placed for adult chest compressions?
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Centre of the chest, on the lower half of the sternum.
72 · Basic resuscitation
What is the single-rescuer compression to ventilation ratio in adults?
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30:2.
73 · Basic resuscitation
What ratio is used by two rescuers for a child or infant?
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15:2.
74 · Basic resuscitation
Which cardiac arrest rhythms are shockable?
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Ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
Memory hook: Asystole and PEA are not.
75 · Basic resuscitation
Adrenaline dose and interval in adult cardiac arrest?
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1 mg intravenously every 3 to 5 minutes.
76 · Basic resuscitation
Amiodarone doses in refractory VF or pulseless VT?
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300 mg first dose, then 150 mg.
77 · Basic resuscitation
What are the reversible causes of cardiac arrest?
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4 Hs (hypoxia, hypovolaemia, hypo/hyperkalaemia and metabolic, hypothermia) and 4 Ts (tension pneumothorax, tamponade, toxins, thrombosis).
78 · Basic resuscitation
What is the newborn compression to ventilation ratio?
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3:1, with compressions at the lower third of the sternum.
79 · Basic resuscitation
How long should a pulse check take in cardiac arrest?
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No more than 10 seconds.
Common questions
How many Anaesthesia flashcards are there?
79 cards across 17 topics. The deck grows as we add material.
Which topics are in the Anaesthesia deck?
Complications, Intravenous anaesthetics, Local anaesthetics, Airway assessment, Inhalational anaesthetics, Airway, Pre-operative care, Neuromuscular blockers, Regional anaesthesia, General anaesthesia, Preoperative assessment, Intravenous and inhalational agents, and more.
Is the Anaesthesia deck free?
Anaesthesia opens with a paid term. The free plan includes the Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry decks.
How do spaced-repetition cards work?
You rate each card Again, Hard, Good or Easy. Cards you find hard return soon and cards you know return later, so your time goes where you forget.
What is the memory hook on a card?
33 of these cards carry a one-line hook: a short cue that helps the answer stick. It is optional and appears after you reveal the answer.
How many Anaesthesia cards should I do a day?
Ten to twenty minutes a day is plenty. A few due cards every day beat a long session once a week.
Can I flip through the cards on this page?
You can read each question and reveal its answer here. For scheduling, ratings and progress, study the deck in the app.
Are the Anaesthesia cards reviewed by faculty?
Not yet. They are original and still awaiting independent review, so confirm anything important in a standard textbook.