Airway & Respiratory
What is the most reliable continuous method listed in the study guide for confirming endotracheal tube placement?
Continuous waveform capnography.
What ECG should be obtained early in a patient with suspected acute coronary syndrome?
A 12-lead ECG.
A patient has severe respiratory depression and pinpoint pupils. What toxicologic emergency should be suspected?
Opioid toxicity.
What does significant steering-wheel deformity tell you about the patient's injury potential?
It increases suspicion for significant or occult injury.
What is the term for a woman who has previously given birth more than once?
Multipara.
What does the NFPA 704 diamond communicate?
Hazard information using colors and numeric severity ratings.
What is abandonment?
Ending care/transfer of care in a situation where the patient still requires a level of care that the receiving person is not qualified to provide.
Before performing a weight-based medication calculation, what unit should pounds be converted to?
Kilograms.
A patient has an ETT with breath sounds present on the right but absent on the left. What tube-position problem should you consider?
Mainstem intubation, particularly right mainstem placement.
What accessory conduction pathway is associated with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome?
An accessory pathway that bypasses the normal AV-node conduction pathway.
After a seizure stops, name two priorities during postictal assessment.
Examples:
What type of pain can occur with a splenic injury because of referred pain?
Shoulder pain.
What is the major difference between preeclampsia and eclampsia?
Eclampsia involves seizure activity associated with the hypertensive pregnancy disorder.
Name three priorities when approaching a HAZMAT scene.
Examples:
What is the difference between assault and battery?
Assault involves an act/threat that creates apprehension of unwanted contact; battery involves unauthorized physical contact.
What is the basic information needed to calculate an IV drip rate?
Volume, time, and tubing drip factor.
Why should oxygen not automatically be withheld from a patient with COPD because of the traditional "hypoxic drive" teaching?
Oxygen should be titrated to the patient's actual clinical condition rather than withheld based solely on that traditional teaching.
What are the three major factors that affect stroke volume?
Preload, afterload, and contractility.
What two hyperglycemic emergencies should you be able to distinguish?
DKA and hyperosmolar states.
Name the four major obstructive shock conditions specifically identified in the study guide.
What three findings should make you concerned about an ectopic pregnancy?
Possible answers:
What three major areas does START triage rapidly assess?
Name four pieces of information that belong in a hospital radio report.
Examples:
What's the difference between macrodrip and microdrip tubing?
They have different drop factors, which changes the drip-rate calculation.
Name three findings that can indicate significant inhalation injury.
Any three:
What is the important distinction between pulseless ventricular tachycardia and perfusing ventricular tachycardia?
Whether the patient has a pulse/perfusion determines the treatment pathway.
Name three findings associated with increased intracranial pressure/brain herniation.
Any three:
What three assessments should be performed before and after splinting a fracture?
Distal:
A child has a barking cough and stridor. What condition should you consider?
Croup
Why should MCI triage remain rapid rather than becoming a detailed secondary assessment?
To direct limited resources toward the greatest number of patients.
What are the four major legal documents/terms the study guide wants you to distinguish?
For a continuous medication infusion, what concentration should you generally convert the medication into before calculating the pump/drip rate?
A usable concentration such as mcg/mL.
Why can delaying definitive airway management in a patient with severe inhalation injury make intubation more difficult?
Progressive airway edema can develop and make later airway management more difficult.
A patient has an inferior MI and hypotension. Why might right-sided ECG leads be important?
To evaluate for right ventricular infarction.
A patient has an acute neurologic emergency. What major treatment considerations should you continually evaluate?
Airway/ventilation, capnography targets, head positioning, perfusion, glucose, and avoiding inappropriate blood-pressure treatment without considering the neurologic condition.
A trauma patient has exposed abdominal organs. What are the major evisceration-care principles?
Protect the exposed organs, prevent drying/contamination, do not replace the organs, and manage shock and pain appropriately.
A child has drooling, stridor, fever and appears severely ill. What airway condition should you suspect, and what is the major airway-management principle?
Suspect epiglottitis. Minimize agitation, maintain the airway, avoid unnecessary airway visualization, and prioritize rapid definitive care/transport.
You're treating a patient when an MCI develops nearby. What major operational consideration does the study guide identify?
Maintain appropriate care of the current patient while considering dispatch/transport decisions, medical direction, and the developing MCI.
What is the difference between standing orders and online medical direction?
Standing orders provide authorized treatment directions that can be followed without obtaining a real-time physician order; online medical direction involves real-time physician/medical-control communication.
Before administering a calculated medication dose, what four things should you specifically recheck?