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SELF/Anesthesia and Critical Care/Spinal Anesthesia/Management of Immediate and Post-operative Complications

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▼Created by the West African College of Surgeons for the Surgical Education Learners Forum.Please see the Terms of Use and do not edit without permission.
Instructions

Work through each question carefully to choose the best answer, and submit the quiz to view your results. After completing the quiz, read through the answer explanations to review the reasoning behind both correct and incorrect options.

1

Which finding during the first 20 minutes after spinal anesthesia most strongly indicates the need for immediate treatment?

Heart rate of 80 bpm
Mild shivering without hemodynamic change
Systolic pressure below 90 mmHg
Systolic pressure decrease of 10% from baseline

2

A patient develops rapidly rising numbness to the arms and increasing shortness of breath after spinal anesthesia. Which action is the highest priority?

Applying a warm blanket
Increasing the frequency of blood pressure cycling
Encouraging slower, deeper breathing
Securing the airway and providing assisted ventilation

3

During surgery, the patient reports sharp sensation at the operative site despite having received a spinal anesthetic. What is the safest next step?

Convert to general anesthesia using the prepared backup plan
Proceed with surgery while giving IV opioids
Repeat the spinal puncture for additional anesthetic
Inject local anesthetic subcutaneously at the incision only

4

A patient becomes hypotensive and bradycardic (HR 45 bpm) shortly after the spinal is placed. Which treatment is most appropriate to address the bradycardia?

Phenylephrine 50–100 mcg IV
Atropine 0.5 mg IV
Caffeine 300 mg orally
Trendelenburg positioning only

5

On postoperative day 1, a patient presents with a positional headache that began within 24 hours of the spinal. What initial management is recommended?

Immediate epidural blood patch
High-dose vasopressor infusion
Hydration, caffeine, and analgesics
Neurosurgical consult for imaging


Page data
Keywords surgery, health
SDG SDG03 Good health and well-being
Authors Global Surgical Training Challenge
License CC-BY-SA-4.0
Organizations WACS, SELF
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 0 pages link here
Redirects WACS Training Modules/Spinal Anesthesia/Management of Immediate and Post-operative Complications
Views 10 page views (analytics)
Created November 20, 2025 by Fabrice Sodogas
Last edit March 8, 2026 by Ian-laurel
Cite as Fadogas (2025–2026). "SELF/Anesthesia and Critical Care/Spinal Anesthesia/Management of Immediate and Post-operative Complications". Appropedia. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
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