Chapter 21 Poisoning and Overdose

Question 1

What term describes any substance that can harm the body by altering cell structure or functions?

Answer 1

Poison

Question 2

What term describes a poisonous substance by bacteria, plants, or animals?

Answer 2

toxin

Question 3

What patient populations are likely to have a more serious reaction to a poison?

Answer 3

ill, very young and elderly

Question 4

What are some signs and sxs you might see in a person who ingested a household cleaner?

Answer 4

burns around the lips, burning in mouth, throat, and abdomen (acids and alkalis)

Question 5

What are some signs and sxs you might see in the patient who was poisoned by an insecticide?

Answer 5

Slow pulse, excessive salivation and sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, constricted pupils

Question 6

What are the two most common sxs experienced after ingesting a poison?

Answer 6

nausea and vomiting

Question 7

What term describes a substance that absorbs many poisons and prevents them from being absorbed by the body?

Answer 7

activated charcoal

Question 8

What are some contraindications for the use of activated charcoal?

Answer 8

Pt's who cannot swallow
Altered mental status
Pt's who have ingested acids or alkalis (oven cleaners, drain cleaners, toilet bowel cleaners, lye)
Ingested gasoline 
Food poisoning

Question 9

What term describes the thinning down or weakening by mixing with something else?

Answer 9

Dilution

Question 10

What are common substances used to dilute ingested poisons?

Answer 10

Water or milk

Question 11

What term describes a substance that will neutralize a poison or its effects?

Answer 11

antidote

Question 12

What is the single most important treatment for the patient who inhaled poison after the airway has been opened?

Answer 12

Administering high concentration of oxygen

Question 13

What is the most commonly inhaled poison?

Answer 13

Carbon Monoxide

Question 14

What are some signs and sxs pf carbon monoxide poisoning?

Answer 14

Headache "band around the head"
Dizziness
Difficulty breathing
Nausea
Cyanosis 
Altered mental status

Question 15

What should you suspect in the patient with vague flu like sxs who has been in an enclosed area?

Answer 15

Carbon Monoxide poisoning

Question 16

What are some signs that indicate airway injury in the smoke inhalation patient?

Answer 16

Difficulty breathing, coughing, smokey smelling breath, black residue in sputum or around nose/mouth, nose hairs singed

Question 17

Should you administer O2 for the smoke inhalation Pt who has a SpO2 of 100%?

Answer 17

Yes, may have inhaled carbon monoxide which can give a faulty SpO2 reading

Question 18

Why is it important for the smoke inhalation patient to see a physician even if they are not felling any serious effects?

Answer 18

Body’s reaction to toxic gases and foreign matter in airway can be delayed

Question 19

What are the most commonly injected poisons?

Answer 19

illicit drugs

Question 20

What information do you need to obtain about the patient who ingested a poison?

Answer 20

What substance
When
How much
Over what time period
What intervention have been performed
What is the Pt's estimated weight
What effects is the Pt experiencing

Question 21

What term describes a severe reaction that can be part of alcohol withdrawal, characterized by sweating, trembling, anxiety and hallucinations?

Answer 21

Delirium Tremens

Question 22

What is the opiate triad?

Answer 22

Coma, pinpoint pupils, and respiratory depression