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RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice Veterinary Neuropharmacology: practice questions

RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP) · UK · RCVS, with modules through accredited universities

Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papers
10worked here, free
15written to this exam in this subject
9syllabus units

About RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice

RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP) is a professional certification run by RCVS, with modules through accredited universities, for candidates in UK. Modular postgraduate certificate: 1 A module, 1 B module and 4 C modules. Designated certificates carry a synoptic oral exam.

Source: rcvs.org.uk.

Checked against the exam body's published information. Formats and fees change; confirm the current edition there before you book.

Veterinary Neuropharmacology in RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice

Drugs acting on the central nervous system: sedatives, tranquillisers, alpha-2 agonists, general and local anaesthetics, opioids, anticonvulsants and muscle relaxants.

Our 15 RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice questions in this subject: 1 easy, 7 medium, 7 hard, across 9 units.

10 practice questions, worked

Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.

These 10 were written to RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice and are not shown on any other exam's page.

Question 1 · medium

A dog in hypovolaemic shock after trauma needs sedation for radiographs. Which sedative choice best fits its cardiovascular state?

  1. Acepromazine alone
  2. Medetomidine alone
  3. A benzodiazepine with an opioid
  4. Acepromazine with medetomidine
Answer and working

C. A benzodiazepine with an opioid

Benzodiazepines and opioids cause little cardiovascular depression. Acepromazine causes alpha-1-mediated vasodilation and hypotension, and alpha-2 agonists sharply reduce cardiac output, both unsafe in shock.

Question 2 · medium

A horse is heavily sedated with detomidine for a hind-limb wound dressing. What is the key safety point for the handler?

  1. A sedated horse can still kick accurately when the hindquarters are touched
  2. Alpha-2 sedation abolishes all motor responses, so no precautions are needed
  3. Detomidine usually causes the horse to go down within minutes
  4. Reversal with atipamezole is required before any handling
Answer and working

A. A sedated horse can still kick accurately when the hindquarters are touched

Alpha-2 sedation reduces awareness but a horse can still deliver a well-aimed kick, so safe positioning and restraint remain essential.

Question 3 · hard

A 4 kg cat is to receive ketamine at 5 mg/kg intramuscularly as part of a written combination protocol. The vial is 100 mg/mL. What volume is drawn up?

  1. 2 mL
  2. 0.2 mL
  3. 0.02 mL
  4. 0.5 mL
Answer and working

B. 0.2 mL

Dose = 4 × 5 = 20 mg; 20 ÷ 100 mg/mL = 0.2 mL. 2 mL assumes a 10 mg/mL strength; 0.02 mL is a decimal slip; 0.5 mL would be 50 mg.

Question 4 · hard

A 450 kg horse is maintained with a 'triple drip' (guaifenesin, ketamine, xylazine) at 2 mL/kg/h through a giving set that delivers 10 drops per mL. How many drops per minute are needed?

  1. 15 drops/min
  2. 900 drops/min
  3. 1500 drops/min
  4. 150 drops/min
Answer and working

D. 150 drops/min

Rate = 450 × 2 = 900 mL/h = 15 mL/min; 15 mL/min × 10 drops/mL = 150 drops/min (2.5 drops per second). 15 is mL/min, not drops; 900 is mL/h; 1500 multiplies by 100 instead of 10.

Question 5 · hard

A circle system runs at a fresh gas flow of 2 L/min with isoflurane at 2% for 1 hour. One mL of liquid isoflurane yields about 195 mL of vapour at room temperature. About how much liquid isoflurane is used?

  1. About 2.4 mL
  2. About 0.2 mL
  3. About 123 mL
  4. About 12 mL
Answer and working

D. About 12 mL

Vapour per hour = 2000 mL/min × 0.02 × 60 min = 2400 mL. Liquid = 2400 ÷ 195 ≈ 12.3 mL. 2.4 mL confuses 2.4 litres of vapour with mL of liquid; 0.2 mL uses the per-minute vapour (40 mL ÷ 195) and forgets the 60 minutes; 123 mL treats 2% as 0.2.

Question 6 · medium

A 6 kg cat has a tidal volume of 12 mL/kg and a respiratory rate of 15 breaths/min. The non-rebreathing system in use needs a fresh gas flow of 2.5 times minute ventilation. What flow is set?

  1. 1.08 L/min
  2. 0.27 L/min
  3. 27 L/min
  4. 2.7 L/min
Answer and working

D. 2.7 L/min

Minute ventilation = 6 × 12 × 15 = 1080 mL/min. × 2.5 = 2700 mL/min = 2.7 L/min. 1.08 L/min is minute ventilation without the multiplier; 0.27 and 27 are unit slips.

Question 7 · hard

A 20 kg dog is to receive a fentanyl infusion at 5 micrograms/kg/h during surgery. The fentanyl solution is 50 micrograms/mL. What is the pump rate?

  1. 0.2 mL/h
  2. 20 mL/h
  3. 2 mL/h
  4. 100 mL/h
Answer and working

C. 2 mL/h

Dose rate = 20 × 5 = 100 micrograms/h; 100 ÷ 50 micrograms/mL = 2 mL/h. 100 mL/h confuses micrograms with mL; 0.2 and 20 are tenfold slips.

Question 8 · hard

A 30 kg dog receives maintenance fluids at 5 mL/kg/h. The clinician wants ketamine at 0.6 mg/kg/h added to a 500 mL fluid bag so that the fluid rate delivers the ketamine. Ketamine is 100 mg/mL. How much ketamine is added?

  1. 6 mL (600 mg)
  2. 0.18 mL (18 mg)
  3. 18 mL (1,800 mg)
  4. 0.6 mL (60 mg)
Answer and working

D. 0.6 mL (60 mg)

Fluid rate = 30 × 5 = 150 mL/h. Ketamine needed = 30 × 0.6 = 18 mg/h. Concentration = 18/150 = 0.12 mg/mL. In 500 mL: 0.12 × 500 = 60 mg = 0.6 mL. 18 mg is one hour's dose, not a bag; 600 mg is a tenfold slip; 18 mL takes the fluid rate as 5 mL/h without multiplying by body weight (18 ÷ 5 × 500).

Question 9 · medium

A horse was euthanased with pentobarbital on a farm. Why must the carcass not be left for scavengers or sent to the food chain?

  1. Pentobarbital can be converted to cyanide in the carcass as it slowly decomposes
  2. The carcass decomposes too quickly
  3. Pentobarbital spreads infection
  4. Barbiturate residues persist and can poison animals that eat the carcass
Answer and working

D. Barbiturate residues persist and can poison animals that eat the carcass

Pentobarbital residues remain in tissues; eagles, other scavengers and dogs have been poisoned. Carcasses are disposed of by approved methods such as incineration, rendering or deep burial according to local law.

Question 10 · medium

Before reversing dexmedetomidine with atipamezole in a dog after orthopaedic surgery, what must be ensured?

  1. That another analgesic is in effect, because reversal also removes alpha-2 analgesia
  2. That the dog has been extubated for an hour
  3. That glucose has been given, because atipamezole causes profound hypoglycaemia in dogs
  4. That naloxone has been given first
Answer and working

A. That another analgesic is in effect, because reversal also removes alpha-2 analgesia

Atipamezole reverses both sedation and analgesia from the alpha-2 agonist. An opioid, NSAID or local technique should be in place first.

A study plan for Veterinary Neuropharmacology in RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice

This plan follows where our questions actually fall, so the time goes where the marks are likely to be. It is our reading of the syllabus, not the exam body's weighting.

  1. First, the heavy units (47% of the 15 questions): Opioid analgesics (3, 20%); Alpha-2 adrenergic agonists (2, 13%); Inhalant general anaesthetics (2, 13%).

    Read the manual chapters for these first and do every worked question you can find on them.

  2. Then the middle band: Injectable general anaesthetics (2, 13%); Muscle relaxants (2, 13%); Anticonvulsants (1, 7%).

    Aim for one sitting per unit, then mixed questions across them.

  3. Then the lighter units: Local anaesthetics (1, 7%); Principles of CNS pharmacology (1, 7%); Sedatives and tranquillisers (1, 7%).

    Learn the definitions, classifications and standard numbers; these units are more often recalled than worked.

  4. Leave time for the hard ones: Injectable general anaesthetics (2 hard of 2), Local anaesthetics (1 hard of 1), Opioid analgesics (2 hard of 3).

    Come back to these after a first pass, untimed, and read every explanation, including for the options you rejected.

  5. Bank the easy marks: Muscle relaxants (1 easy of 2).

    Do these early in revision so they are fast on the day.

  6. Finish timed. Sit the subject as a timed set without notes, mark it, and send each wrong answer back to its unit above.

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