whats goin on upstairs?
This term describes any change from a patient's normal level of awareness, behavior, or responsiveness.
What is Altered Mental Status
Bleeding into the brain causes this type of stroke.
What is a hemorrhagic stroke?
What is the period of confusion, fatigue, and decreased responsiveness following a seizure is called?
What is a postictal state?
Shock is the failure of the circulatory system to provide adequate blood flow and oxygen to the tissues, also called this.
What is hypoperfusion?
A patient is confused, febrile, and tachycardic with signs of infection. The EMT should first evaluate these three immediate functions.
What are the ABC's?
A confused patient is pale, restless, and breathing 32 times per minute with shallow chest rise. Before completing a detailed neurologic examination, the EMT should perform this intervention.
What is support the patient’s ventilation with a BVM and oxygen?
What specific assessment do we do for this patient: 58 yo with left-sided facial droop and right-sided gaze preference, and you can't understand what they are saying.
What is a stroke assessment?
Bonus points: Name a stroke assessment and what it means.
What should we check on a seizure patient?
In the perfusion triangle, the heart is the pump, the blood vessels are the container, and the blood represents this component.
What is the volume or contents?
A postictal patient has adequate breathing but continues vomiting. This intervention takes priority.
What is position appropriately and suction the airway as needed?
A patient with altered mental status has a fever, severe headache, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, and a purple rash. This infectious neurologic emergency should be suspected.
What is meningitis?
What would we consider for a diagnosis for this patient: 73 yo Male with facial drop, unilateral weakness, slurred speech that resloves prior to EMS arrival?
What is a Transient ischemic attack (TIA)?
Your patient stops seizing but remains unresponsive with slow, shallow breaths. What do you do?
What is open the airway and provide ventilation via BVM?
Early restlessness, tachycardia, cool skin, and a normal blood pressure indicate this stage of shock.
What is compensated shock?
A suspected stroke patient becomes unresponsive and develops inadequate respirations. This treatment takes priority over completing the stroke examination.
What is airway management and assisted ventilation with a BVM?
What is Cushing's triad?
What is bradycardia, irregular respirations, and widening pulse pressure?
Bonus points: What does this tell us?
A patient wakes up at 0700 with facial droop. They were last seen at 2200. What time should be documented as the last known well?
What is 2200?
A seizure lasting longer than 5 minutes or repeated seizures without regaining consciousness is known as?
What is status epilepticus?
This life-threatening response to infection may produce altered mental status, abnormal temperature, tachycardia, and tachypnea.
What is sepsis?
A patient develops wheezing, facial swelling, vomiting, and hypotension after eating. Oxygen alone is not sufficient because this medication is the priority treatment.
What is epinephrine?
A patient is found confused after an unwitnessed fall. Family members insist the patient “just has dementia,” but the patient normally recognizes them and has unequal pupils. These two serious causes of altered mental status must be suspected.
What are a traumatic brain injury and intracranial bleeding? (TBI/ICP)
A patient develops sudden, severe dizziness, vomiting, slurred speech, poor coordination, and an inability to walk without falling, but has no facial droop or unilateral arm weakness. This condition should be suspected.
What is a cerebellar stroke?
A patient suddenly stops speaking, stares blankly, repeatedly picks at their clothing, and does not respond appropriately for two minutes. Confusion follows the episode, but no generalized convulsions occurred. This type of seizure should be suspected.
What is a focal impaired-awareness seizure?
Anaphylaxis falls into what shock catagory?
A confused patient has a severe headache, fever, stiff neck, unequal pupils, a pulse of 48, blood pressure of 196/88, and irregular respirations. Before determining whether the cause is meningitis, hemorrhagic stroke, or another intracranial emergency, state the immediate treatment priorities.
What is manage the airway, assist inadequate ventilations, minimize delays on scene, and transport rapidly to an appropriate facility while requesting ALS support?