🔥 Heat Emergencies
This condition presents with heavy sweating, weakness, and normal mental status.
What is heat exhaustion?
Mild hypothermia is defined as a core temp in this range.
What is 32–35°C (89.6–95°F)?
Pit viper envenomation commonly causes this local symptom.
What is swelling and pain?
This is the most important initial step in drowning resuscitation.
What is airway management/ventilation?
This gas is odorless and causes hypoxia by binding hemoglobin.
What is carbon monoxide?
Core temp above 104°F with altered mental status defines this life-threatening condition.
What is heat stroke?
This cardiac rhythm is commonly seen in moderate to severe hypothermia.
What is bradycardia (or atrial fibrillation)?
This type of shock can occur from severe allergic reactions to stings
What is anaphylactic shock?
This type of drowning involves aspiration of water into the lungs
What is wet drowning?
This is the antidote for opioid overdose.
What is naloxone?
Primary field treatment for heat stroke includes this rapid cooling method.
What is cold water immersion?
This ECG finding is classic in hypothermia.
What is an Osborn wave (J wave)?
First-line medication for anaphylaxis in the field.
What is epinephrine?
Diving injuries often result in this type of trauma.
What is cervical spine injury?
This toxidrome presents with SLUDGE symptoms.
What is cholinergic toxicity?
This electrolyte imbalance is commonly caused by excessive water intake during heat exposure.
What is hyponatremia?
This is the priority when handling a severely hypothermic patient.
What is gentle handling to prevent ventricular fibrillation?
Hypothermia patients must be handled gently to avoid triggering fatal cardiac arrhythmias, such as ventricular fibrillation (VF), or worsening atrial fibrillation (AFib). Cold-stressed hearts are extremely irritable, and rough handling can cause cold, acidic blood from the limbs to rush to the heart, causing it to go into a lethal rhythm.
This snake venom effect disrupts clotting.
What is a hemotoxic effect?
This condition occurs when nitrogen bubbles form during ascent.
What is decompression sickness?
This antidote is used for organophosphate poisoning
What is atropine (and pralidoxime)?
This medication class increases risk of heat emergencies due to impaired sweating.
What are anticholinergics?
Defibrillation may be limited until the patient reaches this core temperature
What is approximately 30°C (86°F)?
Defibrillating a severely hypothermic patient is challenging because the cold causes physiological changes that make the heart resistant to electrical shocks. Despite this, paramedics typically attempt it to give the patient every possible chance of recovery
Field treatment for snake bites includes avoiding this outdated intervention.
What is cutting/suctioning the wound?
This gas embolism is a life-threatening complication of rapid ascent.
What is arterial gas embolism?
Cyanide poisoning primarily disrupts this cellular process.
What is cellular respiration?