Pharmacology
Should immediately life saving medication (like epinephrine) be withheld or administered if medical control is not able to answer?
administer only immediate life saving interventions and continue to attempt to contact medical control.
What two things must be done before every other part of the assessment?
Scene safety, PPE
A patient in unstable condition should be reassessed every __ mins, stable condition every __ mins.
CO2 decreases (inc pH)
What causes most of the early signs of shock?
Body's attempts to compensate for decreased perfusion (ex: blood loss)
EMTs require authorization from medical control to give what 3 medications:
If a patient has no pulse and is unresponsive and no one saw the collapse, you should:
After every medication administration, you should do what two things?
Document the administration and reassess for response.
Pain that moves from point of origin to another body location is what type of pain?
Radiating pain
External bleeding is first, and usually completely controlled by doing what?
applying direct pressure with a gloved hand.
What are the 3 main effects of epinephrine on the body?
What conditions indicate need for c-collar placement?
Trauma with pain on palpation of c-spine or AMS (unable to tell you if there is pain/neural deficits)
A rapid exam is performed after the primary assessment to identify (more/less) obvious injuries that require (immediate, delayed) treatment?
A rapid exam is performed to identify less obvious injuries that require immediate treatment.
A sphygmomanometer should cover (1/3,1/2,2/3,whole) length of arm from armpit to elbow crease?
2/3
What are three major signs that a pt is changing from compensated to decompensated shock?
AMS, hypotension, absent peripheral pulses
How does aspirin and nitroglycerin help a pt with chest pain who is possibly having an MI (heart attack)
Aspirin reduces the ability to form additional or bigger blood clots.
Nitroglycerin dilates the vessels and allows more blood to pass through, possibly allowing oxygenated blood to pass by a clot and perfuse the heart muscle.
Differentiate between blue and pale skin, give the medical terms for each and what they signify.
Cyanosis, hypoxia/ low oxygen
Ashen, poor/ low perfusion
What does SAMPLE and OPQRST stand for?
Signs and symptoms, allergies, medications, past medical hx, last oral intake, events leading
Onset, provocation, quality, radiation, severity, time
At what position should a patient be sitting in to assess presence of JVD? (bonus for degree of angle)
Semi-fowlers, 45 degrees
Increased resistance to ventilating a patient might indicate a potential (type of respiratory problem)
pneumothorax (hole in the lung, air filling pleural space, will progress to collapsed lung and decreased CO over time.)
What are the contraindications for nitroglycerin?
*BP less than 100 systolic
*ED meds within 24 hours
Unable to hold medication under tongue
anaphylactic allergy
no prescription (at EMT level)When should immediate transport be prioritized? (2 main answers)
When the pt has a more urgent need for definitive care= problems which the EMT cannot fix on scene, or is SICK and medically unstable.
A 45 yom is laying on the ground, he does not open his eyes when you perform a sternal rub but he does moan. He reaches up to push your hand away. What is his GCS?
GCS 8
CPAP has 4 main functions to improve oxygenation and ventilation:
Forces alveoli open
Increases concentration of oxygen in alveoli
Prevents alveolar collapse during exhalation
Promotes fluid shift out of alveoli into vascular and third spaces (in between cells).
Cardiogenic shock may result from increased afterload, and decreased preload