EMS Chapter 14

In addition to obtaining a SAMPLE history and asking questions related to the chief complaint, what else should you specifically inquire about when assessing a patient with a potentially infectious disease?

Recent travel

Which of the following statements regarding the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is correct?

The risk of HIV infection is greatest when deposited on a mucous membrane or directly into the bloodstream.

The primary prehospital treatment for most medical emergencies:

addresses the patient’s symptoms more than the actual disease process.

An index of suspicion is MOST accurately defined as:

your awareness and concern for potentially serious underlying and unseen injuries or illness.

Three months after returning home from West Africa, a 50-year-old man begins experiencing a fever, cough, and muscle aches. The EMT should suspect:

Influenza

Factors that increase the risk for developing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) include:

prolonged hospitalization, especially in an intensive care unit.

In contrast to the assessment of a trauma patient, assessment of a medical patient:

is focused on the nature of illness, the patient’s chief complaint, and his or her symptoms.

Which of the following statements regarding medical emergencies is correct?

Medical emergencies can appear to be traumatic in nature.

Early signs and symptoms of viral hepatitis include all of the following, EXCEPT:

jaundice and abdominal pain.

Upon initial contact with a patient who appears to be unconscious, you should:

attempt to elicit a verbal response by talking to the patient.

Typical chief complaints in patients with an infectious disease include:

fever, rash, nausea, and difficulty breathing.

A patient who presents with a headache, fever, confusion, and red blotches on his or her skin should be suspected of having:

meningitis

The acronym "TACOS" is used to _________.

identify factors that may complicate the patient’s condition or your treatment.

"Tunnel vision" occurs when ___________.

you exclude certain possibilities for the patient’s condition

Which of the following will MOST reliably allow you to determine the nature of a patient’s illness?

Asking questions related to the chief complaint

Your patient’s symptoms include high fever, cough, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and shortness of breath. Which of the following should you suspect?

MERS-CoV

Which of the following conditions often requires transport to a hospital with specialized capabilities that may not be available at the closest hospital?

Stroke and heart attack

The greatest danger in displaying a personal bias or labeling a patient who frequently calls EMS is:

overlooking a potentially serious medical condition.

You have just completed your primary assessment of a 48-year-old man with crushing chest pain and difficulty breathing. The patient has been given 324 mg of aspirin and is receiving supplemental oxygen. As you begin your secondary assessment, you note that his mental status has deteriorated and he is now bradycardic. You should:

prepare the patient for immediate transport.

Which of the following questions would be the MOST pertinent to ask a patient who recently returned from Europe and is now ill?

Is anyone else in your travel party sick?

Which of the following is an example of a common urologic emergency?

Kidney Stones

Which of the following is an example of a hematologic emergency?

Sickle cell disease

You awareness and concern for potentially serious underlying and unseen injuries or illnesses is called?

Index of suspicion.

If you have a conscious medical patient, what type of secondary assessment should you perform?

Detailed physical examination of chief complaint

All of the following should be considered high-priority transport, EXCEPT?

Patients with difficult breathing but who are responding to treatment.

The time on scene should be limited to_________ minutes for critical patients?

10 minutes

Most patients with infectious diseases will have a_________ of unexplained origin or mild________ problems.

Fever, breathing

Which of the following statements is NOT true about a pandemic?

The vaccine is often available quickly.

During the management of a patient with a possible infectious or communicable disease, the EMT must complete which of the following?

Clean equipment according to your agency’s exposure control plan, properly discard any disposable supplies, and wash any lines.

Your best approach to treating a medical patient is to keep calm, use your__________, treat the patients symptoms, report to medical control, and transport the patient safely?

Patient assessment skills.