Shake, Rattle, 'N' Roll
Which of the following is a typical cause of seizures in children 6 months to 3 years of age?
A) Fever
At which of the following sites should the EMT administer an epinephrine auto-injector?
D) Thigh
The medical term for fainting is:
A) syncope
Which of the following is the cause of most strokes?
B) Blockage of an artery supplying part of the brain
Volatile chemicals are agents that are able to change easily from a ________ into a ________.
C) liquid; gas
Your patient is a 25-year-old female with a history of diabetes. She is confused, agitated, and verbally abusive to you, and she is very sweaty. Although she refuses to give a history of the present illness, which of the following should you suspect as the likely cause of the patient's presentation?
C) Failure to intake sufficient sugar
Which of the following is the MOST critical piece of equipment to have immediately available for the seizure patient who has just stopped convulsing?
D) Suction
What is another name for a severe allergic reaction?
B) Anaphylaxis
The patient complaining of parietal abdominal pain who would concern you the most is the one who:
D) is lying on the floor very still and quiet with his knees drawn up to his chest.
The signs and symptoms of a transient ischemic attack (TIA) may last up to:
A) 24 hours
The opioid triad includes all of the following except
A) hypertension.
Which of the following may result in hypoglycemia in the diabetic patient?
C) Vomiting after eating a meal
You are dispatched to a local fast-food restaurant for a "nature unknown" call. You arrive on-scene and find a 47-year-old male in front of the counter repeatedly singing "Happy Birthday" to himself. Police are on-scene and the scene is safe. Which of the following would be considered appropriate care?
A) Quietly and carefully evaluate the situation and keep your emotions under control. Be as unhurried as you can
Your patient is a 7-year-old girl who was prescribed an antibiotic for an ear infection. After 4 days on the antibiotic, the patient is experiencing hives and itching on her face, throat, and neck. Which of the following should you do?
C) Provide supportive care and monitor the patient's condition during transport to the hospital.
You are called to a nursing home for an 85-year-old patient complaining of abdominal pain. The patient has a history of dementia and cannot describe the pain to you. The nurse states the patient has been vomiting for about an hour, and the vomit looks like dark coffee grounds. His blood pressure is 90/40, pulse 100, and respiratory rate of 24. Aside from the airway, what is your greatest concern?
A) The patient will go into shock
Your patient is a 59-year-old female with a sudden onset of slurred speech and weakness on her right side. Which of the following measures is appropriate?
A) Immediately transport the patient to a hospital with specialized treatment for stroke patients.
What is the most important treatment for a patient who has inhaled a poison?
C) Administer high-concentration oxygen.
Organs of the right upper quadrant include:
B) most of the liver, gallbladder, and part of the large intestine.
Why is it important to gather a detailed medical history when dealing with a psychiatric emergency?
C) It will alert you to past issues as well as medication.
You are unsure whether a patient's condition requires the administration of an epinephrine auto-injector. Which of the following actions is most appropriate?
D) None of the above
You are called to a residence for a 48-year-old male patient. He is lying in bed, groaning in pain and curled into a fetal position. His blood pressure is 88/50, pulse 136, and respiratory rate of 32. His wife states that he complained of lower right abdominal pain for several days that got progressively worse, until about an hour ago when it became suddenly unbearable. The wife states the husband had been refusing to see a doctor, but she finally called 911. You suspect appendicitis and are concerned about the subsequent onset of:
A) peritonitis.
You have arrived on the scene of a call for a possible stroke. On your arrival, the patient denies signs and symptoms, is alert and oriented, and moves all extremities well. Her husband states that before you arrived the patient could not move her right arm and the left side of her face seemed to be "slack." Which of the following has most likely occurred?
B) The patient suffered a transient ischemic attack.
The term poison is best described as any substance that can do which of the following?
D) Harm the body
) Your patient is exhibiting bizarre and aggressive behavior; he starts shouting and becomes violent. He has extra strength and appears insensitive to pain. Drug paraphernalia is visible on-scene. This behavior is known as:
D) excited delirium.
You are on the scene of a possible overdose. You find a 30-year-old man pacing around his living room. There is evidence of illicit drug use and the apartment is in disarray. The patient seems agitated and nervous. Attempts at calming the patient should include which of the following?
C) Repeat part of what the patient is saying to show that you are listening to him.
Which of the following changes commonly occurs in the cardiovascular system during anaphylaxis?
B) Low blood pressure due to vasodilation
You are called to the scene of a patient with abdominal pain. Upon arrival, you find a 38-year-old Asian man on the floor next to his desk writhing in pain. He is complaining of severe right-sided flank pain. His blood pressure is 140/90, pulse 100, and his skin is ashen and diaphoretic. You suspect:
B) renal colic
When assessing a conscious patient for a possible stroke using the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale, which of the following three functions should be tested by the EMT?
B) Control of facial muscles, ability to speak, and ability to hold both arms in an extended position for 10 seconds
Your patient has come in contact with a strong acid substance. Using an alkaline solution to treat the patient may result in which of the following?
D) All of the above
It can sometimes be difficult to determine whether someone who is showing unusual behavior is having a psychological emergency or is showing an altered mental status due to a physical issue. Which of the following statements are true? 1. Consider patients who are exhibiting crisis or unusual behavior to be having an altered mental status from a nonpsychiatric cause until proven otherwise. 2. Many medical and traumatic conditions are likely to alter a patient's behavior. 3. Lack of oxygen may cause restlessness and confusion, cyanosis (blue or gray skin), and altered mental status. 4. Stroke or inadequate blood to the brain may cause confusion or dizziness and what appears to be erratic behavior.
C) 1, 2, 3, 4
Which of the following is acceptable when managing the patient with a behavioral or psychiatric emergency?
C) Make supportive statements such as, "That must have been very hard for you."
Which of the following is a trade name for an epinephrine auto-injector?
C) EpiPen®
When the gallbladder is diseased, the pain is not only felt in the right upper quadrant (RUQ) but also in the right shoulder. This is known as:
D) referred pain.
It is important that, as an EMS provider, you avoid creating a situation where positional asphyxia could occur. Which of the following is positional asphyxia?
A) Positional asphyxia is inadequate breathing or respiratory arrest caused by a body position that restricts breathing.
You are called to the scene of a local night club for a 21-year-old female patient who is bradycardic and in respiratory arrest. The patient's airway is patent and the chest easily rises with bag-valve-mask ventilation. The patient's friends state the patient had only one or two drinks when she suddenly complained of dizziness and "seeing things." Her friends state that she then passed out, started twitching like she was seizing, and then stopped. Her friends adamantly state that she does not do drugs. What situation do you suspect?
B) GHB overdose
Which of the following patients would be considered to be at the greatest risk for suicide?
D) 22-year-old man who has lost his job and is getting divorced
Which of the following situations generally allows the EMT to transport a patient with a behavioral emergency against his or her wishes?
A) The patient is a threat to himself or others
You have responded to a park where you find a 23-year-old female sitting on a bench near a running trail. She states that she has been running for the past 30 minutes and suddenly cannot catch her breath. She states that this has never happened before and she usually runs 5 miles a day. Your assessment reveals that she is flushed, her pulse is fast and weak, her respirations are fast and she is wheezing, and she has hives on her arms and chest. She is most likely suffering from which of the following?
C) Anaphylaxis
In what position should the patient complaining of severe abdominal pain be placed if there are no signs or symptoms of shock?
C) One of comfort
You respond to the scene of a private residence for a patient who is known to have insulin-dependent diabetes. The patient is combative and cursing as you approach. Should this patient be restrained?
C) There is not enough information to answer this question.
Signs and symptoms of alcohol abuse include all of the following except:
A) an acetone or ketone odor to the breath.
A patient with a medical history of sickle cell anemia is complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath. The patient is breathing 26 times per minute in short, shallow respirations. However, the patient's oxygen saturation via pulse oximetry is 100% on room air. The best approach regarding supplemental oxygen is to:
C) place the patient on a nonrebreather mask.
How frequently is peritoneal dialysis treatment required?
B) Multiple treatments per day
You are on the scene of a 40-year-old male patient who is anaphylactic and still unresponsive following a single epinephrine injection. Prior to giving the injection, you inserted an oral airway and administered oxygen at 15 liters per minute by bag-valve mask and your partner found diminished lung sounds. Following the epinephrine administration, your partner reassesses lung sounds and tells you that the patient is now wheezing loudly in all fields. What is the next action you should perform?
C) Contact medical control and request to administer another dose of epinephrine.
You are called to a residential neighborhood at 12:30 A.M. Your patient has just finished eating a super-sized meal of deep fried fish. He is now complaining of a "crampy" pain in the right upper quadrant and has had two episodes of nausea and vomiting with green vomit. What condition do you suspect that your patient is experiencing?
B) Cholecystitis
Platelets are actually fragments of larger cells that are crucial to the formation of clots. Clumping (called aggregation) of platelets is the body's most rapid response to stop bleeding from an injured site. However, in some situations the clumping of platelets is not desirable, such as when a plaque in a coronary artery ruptures. In this situation, the rapid clumping of platelets can cause a clot that then completely blocks the coronary artery and results in a heart attack (myocardial infarction). One of the most effective and widely available drugs to prevent the aggregation of platelets is:
C) aspirin
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs by which of the following routes?
B) Inhalation
You are dispatched to a sick call. The patient was just extricated from a bathtub where he was trapped under the shower door for 2 days. The 72-year-old male had limited access to water from the bathtub faucet. The patient is complaining of disorientation, nausea, and vomiting. What do you think is the underlying cause for the illness?
B) Acute renal failure
Which of the following pathologies put patients at high risk for acute renal failure?
C) Shock
Which of the following is the reason why infants rarely experience anaphylactic reactions?
A) Infants have not yet developed antibodies to allergens.
Which of the following is not a cause of parietal pain?
C) Muscle spasm
Approximately what percentage of United States dialysis patients treat themselves at home?
C) 8 percent
Which of the following is a common sign and symptom in poisonings of all types?
D) Nausea and vomiting
Two chronic medical conditions that dialysis patients frequently have in addition to kidney failure are ________ and ________.
C) hypertension; diabetes
________ patients are at high risk for acquiring the inherited disorder called sickle cell anemia
C) African American
Which of the following does a physician not take into consideration when writing a prescription for a patient to obtain an epinephrine auto-injector?
D) How far the patient lives from medical attention
Which patient is experiencing visceral pain?
B) 45-year-old female complaining of abdominal pain "all over"
How many times per week do the majority of American hemodialysis patients receive treatment?
B) Three
The drug ecstasy is classified as what type of drug?
C) Hallucinogen
Because of abnormally shaped hemoglobin, sickle cell anemia (SCA) patients may occasionally experience ________, causing a blockage of small blood vessels
B) sludging