AAPC-CDEO Certified Documentation Expert Outpatient - Set 1 - Part 3

Correct Answer: Several independent reporting paths

OIG guidance directs the Compliance Committee to develop several independent reporting paths so employees can report violations directly and the reports cannot be diverted by supervisors or other personnel. Option a is incorrect because the entity should tell the reporter that identity may become known or have to be revealed, such as when governmental authorities must be informed. Option c is incorrect because OIG guidance says the entity should not deter reporting by requiring personnel to bring concerns to a manager or supervisor before the compliance officer. Option d is incorrect because disclosures are to be recorded in a log maintained by the compliance officer or their designee, not by a supervisor in the reporter's department.

Correct Answer: Teratogen

A teratogen is a substance toxic to a developing fetus. Alcohol is one of the most commonly used teratogens, and excessive maternal intake can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorder with lifelong neurocognitive and behavioral difficulties. Option a is incorrect because a mnemonic is a memory aid, such as APGAR for the five scoring criteria, and has no role in causing fetal harm. Option b is incorrect because this names the abnormality present at birth, which is the result of exposure, not the toxic substance that caused it. Option c is incorrect because an eponym is a term named for a person, such as the Apgar score, and it does not describe a toxic substance.

Correct Answer: Age over 65 and diabetes are recognized risk factors

Adults over age 65 and people with chronic conditions such as diabetes are especially at risk for sepsis. In older adults, urinary tract infections are the leading cause of sepsis. Option a is incorrect because infections leading to sepsis most often start in the lungs, urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, or skin, so the urinary tract is a recognized origin. Option c is incorrect because diabetes appears on the list of chronic medical conditions that raise the risk of sepsis, so it adds risk instead of protecting. Option d is incorrect because untreated bladder infections can progress to complications such as pyelonephritis and sepsis, so this claim contradicts the stated progression of infectious cystitis.

Correct Answer: Blood loss

Anemia from blood loss results from excessive bleeding from wounds or other lesions, such as ulcers and gastrointestinal cancer. Blood loss is one of the three basic causes of anemia, alongside decreased RBC production and excessive RBC destruction. Option b is incorrect because this is a reduction in all three major blood cell types from marrow failure, not one of the three basic causes of anemia. Option c is incorrect because this cause means red cells are broken down too quickly, whereas an ulcer removes cells by bleeding from a lesion. Option d is incorrect because this cause involves faulty marrow output, such as a dietary iron lack limiting hemoglobin, not red cells leaving the body through a bleeding lesion.

Correct Answer: Seizures

Common buprenorphine side effects are sedation, headache, nausea, constipation, and insomnia. Seizures are linked instead to rapid or unmanaged cessation of opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers, not to buprenorphine's common side effects. Option a is incorrect because sedation is listed among the common side effects of buprenorphine in the treatment guidance for opioid withdrawal. Option b is incorrect because insomnia is named alongside headache and nausea as a common side effect, so it belongs to the set the stem describes. Option d is incorrect because constipation appears in the guidance as one of the common side effects that clients may experience with this medication.

Correct Answer: Eustachian tube

The eustachian tube is the small passageway connecting the upper throat to the middle ear. Its job is to supply fresh air, drain fluid, and keep air pressure steady between the nose and the ear. Option a is incorrect because its role is carrying electrical signals from the cochlea to the brain, so it has no part in air supply or fluid drainage. Option b is incorrect because it is the snail-shaped part of the labyrinth that converts sound vibrations from the middle ear into electrical signals, not a ventilation or drainage passage. Option c is incorrect because these are small pads of immune system tissue behind the nose that trap bacteria; they do not ventilate the middle ear or regulate its pressure.

Correct Answer: Troponin blood test

Troponin is a blood test that measures protein released into the bloodstream when heart tissue is damaged, and it helps diagnose myocardial infarction. It is a diagnostic test, not a treatment for CAD. Option a is incorrect because this procedure is listed among CAD treatments, so it is a genuine member of the set the question describes. Option c is incorrect because it is a surgical treatment named for CAD, so it belongs to the treatment set rather than being the odd one out. Option d is incorrect because lifestyle change sits alongside medication in the treatments listed for CAD, which means it cannot be the exception.

Correct Answer: Genetic testing

Genetic testing can identify inherited types of cardiomyopathy and the cause, and helps assess the risk of cardiomyopathy in blood relatives. This matters when the patient or a relative has a heart condition that runs in families. Option a is incorrect because it belongs with the heart tests that check the size and shape of the heart and how well it works, not inheritance. Option b is incorrect because it measures substances in the blood that change with cardiomyopathy or complications such as heart failure, and does not identify inherited types. Option c is incorrect because as one of the heart tests, it helps assess heart function, while identifying a hereditary cause or relatives' risk falls to another test.

Correct Answer: Extent of tissue damage

Pressure injuries are staged from 1 through 4 based on the extent of tissue damage. Stage 1 shows reddened, intact skin, while Stage 4 shows deep, open ulcers reaching muscle, ligaments or tendons. Option a is incorrect because venous ulcers, arterial ulcers and diabetic ulcers are listed as separate wound types, while the 1 through 4 staging is applied to pressure injuries. Option b is incorrect because risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, smoking and moisture exposure show who is prone to delayed healing; they are not what determines a stage. Option d is incorrect because secondary and tertiary intention describe how a wound heals, with edges not approximated or the wound left open; healing intention does not assign stages.

Correct Answer: Varices

Cirrhosis with portal hypertension raises pressure in the liver's blood vessels, and the body diverts blood to other veins. Bleeding from the resulting enlarged veins in the esophagus is called varices. Option a is incorrect because asterixis is another physical examination finding listed for cirrhosis, and it does not describe a vein abnormality or a source of bleeding. Option b is incorrect because spider angiomas are a physical examination finding of cirrhosis, not enlarged esophageal veins that bleed because of portal hypertension. Option c is incorrect because ascites refers to abdominal distension from fluid, a sign of hepatic decompensation, and does not name the enlarged veins of the esophagus.