CANPC case studies
CANPC · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Certified Ambulatory Perianesthesia Nurse credential - commonly abbreviated CAPN, and also seen written as CANPC - is a specialty certification for registered nurses who care for patients before and after anesthesia and sedation in ambulatory settings. It signals that a nurse has moved beyond general med-surg competence into the specific rhythms of the perianesthesia phase: pre-procedure screening and readiness, sedation and airway vigilance, hemodynamic monitoring, pain and nausea control, and recognition of the complications that escalate quickly when a patient is discharged the same day. The CANPC case studies are 5 cases and about 2,384 words.
1Preop Clearance Under Time Pressure
A 68-year-old man is scheduled for outpatient colonoscopy with propofol sedation in 6 hours. He has a history of stable angina, an NSTEMI 8 months ago treated with a drug-eluting stent, and is on aspirin plus ticagrelor.
531 words, about 3 min2Difficult Airway With a Full Stomach
A 45-year-old woman with a BMI of 41 presents for urgent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis. She last ate a full meal 3 hours ago.
512 words, about 3 min3Hypotension After Spinal Anesthesia
A 72-year-old woman with hypertension and type 2 diabetes is undergoing hip hemiarthroplasty under spinal anesthesia. Baseline blood pressure is 150/85.
454 words, about 2 min4Postop Nausea Refractory to Standard Prophylaxis
A 34-year-old woman with a history of severe postoperative nausea and vomiting after two prior surgeries undergoes laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy. She received ondansetron 4 mg and dexamethasone 4 mg at induction, and the surgeon infiltrated the port sites with bupivacaine.
426 words, about 2 min5Disclosing a Medication Error
During a busy morning, a patient scheduled for outpatient surgery receives a dose of a beta-blocker that was intended for a different patient with a similar name. The patient's heart rate drops to 44 with a blood pressure of 92/58.
461 words, about 2 min