Chapter 30. EMT

You and your partner are standing by at a large social event at a river resort when a frantic woman tells you that she found a young male floating face-down in the water. Nobody claims to have witnessed the event. After you and your partner enter the water and reach the patient, you should

move him as a unit to a supine position.

You are transporting a 28-year-old man with a frostbitten foot. The patient’s vital signs are stable and he denies any other injuries or symptoms. The weather is treacherous and your transport time to the hospital is approximately 45 minutes. During transport, you should:

protect the affected part from further injury.

High air temperature reduces the body’s ability to lose heat by:

radiation.

The body’s natural cooling mechanism, in which sweat is converted to a gas, is called:

evaporation.

A 20-year-old male was pulled from cold water by his friends. The length of his submersion is not known and was not witnessed. You perform a primary assessment and determine that the patient is apneic and has a slow, weak pulse. You should:

provide rescue breathing, remove wet clothing, immobilize his spine, keep him warm, and transport carefully.

Which of the following is an early sign of pit viper envenomation?

local swelling and ecchymosis

You and your partner respond to a park where several people were reportedly struck by lightning. When you arrive, you find three patients. The first patient is lying supine on the ground; he is unresponsive and does not appear to be breathing. The second patient is ambulatory, appears confused, and is holding his arm against his chest. The third patient is sitting on the ground holding the sides of his head. After calling for backup, you should:

assess the unresponsive patient’s pulse, begin CPR starting with chest compressions if he is pulseless, and attach the AED as soon as possible.

Which of the following statements regarding lightning strikes is correct?

Lighting often results in a brief period of asystole that resolves spontaneously.

The transfer of heat to circulating air, such as when cool air moves across the body’s surface, is called

convection

Which of the following medications increases a person’s risk of a heat-related emergency?

diuretics

The venom of a black widow spider is toxic to the:

nervous system.

Hypothermia can worsen internal bleeding secondary to:

blood clotting abnormalities.

A dysbarism injury refers to the signs and symptoms related to changes in:

barometric pressure.

To assess a patient’s general temperature, pull back on your glove and place the back of your hand on his or her skin at the:

abdomen.

In contrast to the brown recluse spider, the black widow spider:

is large and has a red-orange hourglass mark on its abdomen.

The transfer of heat to circulating air, such as when cool air moves across the body’s surface, is called:

convection.

A 48-year-old male was stung on the leg by a jellyfish while swimming in the ocean. He is conscious and alert, but complains of intense pain at the wound site. Specific treatment for this patient includes:

irrigating the wound with vinegar and immersing his leg in hot water.

Burns associated with lightning strikes are typically:

superficial.

The two MOST efficient ways for the body to eliminate excess heat are:

sweating and dilation of skin blood vessels.

A 30-year-old male was rescued after being lost in the woods for approximately 18 hours. The outside temperature is 30°F (-1°C). He is immediately placed in the warmed ambulance, where you perform a primary assessment. He is unconscious, pale, and apneic. You should:

assess for a carotid pulse for up to 45 seconds.

Drowning is MOST accurately defined as:

death from suffocation after submersion in water.

of this patient’s presentation, you should suspect:You are dispatched to a residence for a young female who is sick. The patient complains of a rash to her lower extremities and truncal area. Your assessment reveals a small, painful blister on her inner thigh. As your partner is taking the patient’s vital signs, she states that she and her family returned from a camping trip two days ago. On the basis

Lyme disease.

An air embolism associated with diving occurs when:

the diver holds his or her breath during a rapid ascent.

Question 11
The MOST prominent symptom of decompression sickness is:

abdominal or joint pain.

A frostbitten foot can be identified by the presence of:

mottling and blisters.

In order for sweating to be an effective cooling mechanism:

it must be able to evaporate from the body.

You are dispatched to a local high school track and field event for a 16-year-old male who fainted. The outside temperature is approximately 95°F (35°C) with high humidity. Upon your arrival, the patient is conscious, alert, and complains of nausea and a headache. His skin is cool, clammy, and pale. You should:

move him into the cooled ambulance.

Heatstroke occurs when

the body’s heat-eliminating mechanisms are overwhelmed.

The MOST prominent symptom of decompression sickness is:

abdominal or joint pain.

Signs of late heatstroke include:

a weak, rapid pulse.

While drinking beer with his friends near a creek, a 31-year-old male was bitten on the leg by an unidentified snake. The patient is conscious and alert and in no apparent distress. Your assessment of his leg reveals two small puncture marks with minimal pain and swelling. In addition to administering oxygen and providing reassurance, further care for this patient should include:

supine positioning, splinting the leg, and transporting.

High humidity reduces the body’s ability to lose heat through:

evaporation.

Which of the following conditions would be the LEAST likely to increase a person’s risk of hypothermia?

hyperglycemia

Heat loss from the body through respiration occurs when:

warm air is exhaled into the atmosphere.

Geriatric patients are at a higher risk for heatstroke because

circulation to the skin is reduced.

Rough handling of a hypothermic patient with a pulse may cause:

ventricular fibrillation.

The venom of a brown recluse spider is cytotoxic, meaning that it:

causes severe local tissue damage.

Covering a patient’s _________ will significantly minimize radiation heat loss.

head

You are dispatched to a local high school track and field event for a 16-year-old male who fainted. The outside temperature is approximately 95°F (35°C) with high humidity. Upon your arrival, the patient is conscious, alert, and complains of nausea and a headache. His skin is cool, clammy, and pale. You should

move him into the cooled ambulance.

You respond to a local lake where a diver complains of difficulty breathing that occurred immediately after rapidly ascending from a depth of approximately 30′. On assessment, you note that he has cyanosis around his lips and has pink froth coming from his nose and mouth. You should:

suction his mouth and nose, apply high-flow oxygen, position him on his left side with his head down, and contact medical control regarding transport to a recompression facility.

You and your partner are standing by at a large social event at a river resort when a frantic woman tells you that she found a young male floating face-down in the water. Nobody claims to have witnessed the event. After you and your partner enter the water and reach the patient, you should:

move him as a unit to a supine position.

The diving reflex may allow a person to survive extended periods of submersion in cold water secondary to:

bradycardia and a slowing of the metabolic rate.

A person’s ability to shiver is lost when his or her body temperature falls below:

90°F (32°C).

Your assessment of a 23-year-old female reveals a core body temperature of 93.4°F (34°C). She is conscious, answers your questions appropriately, is shivering, and complains of nausea. Her skin is cold and pale, her muscles appear rigid, and her respirations are rapid. In addition to monitoring her ABCs, administering oxygen, and turning up the heat in the back of the ambulance, you should:

place heat packs to her groin, axillae, and behind her neck; cover her with warm blankets; and avoid rough handling.

The EMT must assume that any unwitnessed water-related incident is accompanied by:

possible spinal injury.

You receive a call to a residence for a sick patient. Upon your arrival, you find the patient, a 53-year-old diabetic male, lying down on his front porch. His wife tells you that he had been mowing the lawn in the heat for the past 3 hours. The patient is confused and has hot, moist skin. His pulse is weak and thready, and his blood pressure is 90/50 mm Hg. In addition to administering 100% oxygen, you should

load him into the ambulance and begin rapid cooling interventions.

When the body loses sweat, it also loses:

electrolytes.

The body’s natural protective mechanisms against heat loss are:

vasoconstriction and shivering.

Which of the following would be the LEAST likely to occur in a patient with a core body temperature of between 89°F (32°C) and 92°F (33°C)?

tachycardia

When a warm hand is immersed in water that is 70°F (21°C), heat is transferred from the hand to the water through a process called:

conduction.

A patient with a core body temperature of 95°F (35°C) will MOST likely experience:

rapid breathing.

Which of the following statements regarding drowning is correct?

Laryngospasm following submersion in water makes rescue breathing difficult.

Hypothermia occurs when the core body temperature falls below:

90°F (32°C).

Signs and symptoms of an air embolism include all of the following, EXCEPT:

pale skin.