Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Practice Exam

Disable ads (and more) with a membership for a one time $2.99 payment

Prepare for the Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Exam with our comprehensive study tools, featuring flashcards and multiple-choice questions. Strengthen your knowledge and boost your confidence now!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.

Which is a critical safety practice during the defibrillation sequence?

Ensure the patient is on a flat surface
Be sure oxygen is not blowing over the patient's chest during the shock
Limit the number of personnel in the area
Turn off all monitoring devices

The correct answer is: Be sure oxygen is not blowing over the patient's chest during the shock

During the defibrillation sequence, it is crucial to ensure that oxygen is not blowing over the patient's chest when delivering a shock. This is because the presence of oxygen in a concentrated form, coupled with the electrical discharge from the defibrillator, poses a risk of ignition and can lead to fire, which can be detrimental in a medical emergency. Therefore, ensuring that supplemental oxygen is not in use over the patient's chest is essential for maintaining safety during this critical procedure. The other practices, while important to consider in various contexts, do not directly address the immediate safety risk presented by defibrillation. For example, having the patient on a flat surface is important for effective electrical conductivity but does not carry the same immediate safety concern regarding igniting oxygen. Likewise, limiting the number of personnel can help reduce chaos, but it is not directly related to the risk of fire during defibrillation. Turning off all monitoring devices may not be practical or beneficial, as monitoring can provide vital information during the defibrillation process.