Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

EMT Test 3 > Diabetic Emergencies and Altered Mental Status > Flashcards

Diabetic Emergencies and Altered Mental Status Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
NREMT® EMT flashcards
1
Q

Mental Status Regulation

A

• Regulated by neurologic circuits in brain
that comprise reticular activating system
(RAS)
• RAS responsible for functions of staying
awake, paying attention, and sleeping
• RAS keeps person alert and oriented

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Requirements to Maintain Mental Status

A
  • Oxygen to perfuse brain tissue
  • Glucose to nourish brain tissue
  • Water to keep brain tissue hydrated
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Causes of Altered Mental Status

A 
• Deficiences in oxygen, glucose, water to
brain tissue
• Trauma, infection, chemical toxins
harming brain tissue
• Primary brain problem (stroke)
• Problem within another system (hypoxia
due to asthma)

Often altered mental status is rapidly correctable by treating the underlying cause.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Safety

A 
• Patient with altered mental status can be
dangerous to responders
• Always consider safety of yourself and
your team before approaching a patient
• Use law enforcement when necessary
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Primary Assessment

A

• Identify and treat life-threatening problems
• Consider oxygen administration
• Be alert to the need for positioning and
suctioning if patient requires it or if mental
status worsens

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Secondary Assessment

A

• Body systems exam and complete history
may reveal information about the
suspected cause of altered mental status
• Interview family members and bystanders
to obtain patient’s baseline mental status
• Family may provide information patient is
unable to give

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

difference between hypo and hyperglycemia

A

brain needs oxygen, glucose and water to brain tissue

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

diabetes mellitus

A 
• Two types
• Type 1
– Underproduction of insulin by pancreas
• Type 2
– Inability of body’s cells to use insulin properly
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Glucose

A

• Form of sugar
• Body’s basic source of energy
• Body cells require glucose to remain alive
and create energy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Glucose and the

Digestive System

A
  • Glucose molecule is large

* Will not pass into cell without insulin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

no insulin, no enzyme - no glucose gets in and the cell uses fat and protein to produce energy - this produces ketone acids

A

Lock and key mechanism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Insulin

A

• Produced by pancreas
• Binds to receptor sites on cells
• Allows large glucose molecule to pass into
cells
• Sugar intake–insulin production balance
allows body to use glucose effectively as
energy source

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Type 1 Diabetes

A

• Pancreatic cells do not function properly
• Insulin not secreted normally
• Not enough insulin to transfer circulating
glucose into cells
• Synthetic insulin typically prescribed to
supplement inadequate natural insulin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Type 2 Diabetes

A

• Body’s cells fail to utilize insulin properly
• Pancreas is secreting enough insulin, but
body is unable to use it to move glucose
into cells
• Condition often controlled through diet
and/or oral antidiabetic medications

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Diabetic Emergencies

A
  • Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

* Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Hypoglycemia: Causes

A
  • Diabetic takes too much insulin
  • Diabetic does not eat
  • Diabetic overexercises or overexerts
  • Diabetic vomits
  • Very rapid onset
  • May present with abnormal behavior mimicking drunken stupor
  • Pale, sweaty skin
  • Tachycardia
  • Seizures
  • altered mental status
  • Starvation of brain cells
  • Altered mental status
  • Unconsciousness
  • Permanent brain damage
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

normal blood sugar

A

80-120 mg/dl

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

hypoglycemia

A

insulin shock
take too much insulin too much sugar goes into the cells and there is not enough glucose for the brain which can absorb glucose without insulin

rapid onset
cool skin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

hyperglycemia

A 
diabetic coma - too much sugar
slow onset
altered mental status
polyuria
polydypsia
ketones
kussmal resp
dehydration
acetone breath - sweet smelling fruity breath
blood pressure 90/60 because of hypovolemic
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

hyperglycemia causes

A 
• Decrease in insulin
– May be due to body’s inability to produce
insulin
– May exist because insulin injections not given
in sufficient quantity
• Infection
• Stress
• Increasing dietary intake
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Hyperglycemia: Signs

A
  • Develops over days or weeks
  • Chronic thirst and hunger
  • Increased urination
  • Nausea
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Hyperglycemia: Results

A

• Profound dehydration
• Excessive waste products released into
system
• Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Signs and Symptoms

A
  • Profoundly altered mental status
  • Shock (caused by dehydration)
  • Rapid breathing
  • Acetone odor on breath
24
Q

insulin shock (hypoglycemic)

A 
rapid onset
mimic druken stupor
pale sweaty
tachycardia
seizures
25
Q

diabetic coma (hyperglycemia)

A 
slow onset
cells stare for glucose
increased urination - polyuria
drinks lots of fluid
ketoacidosis
nausea
signs of shock
26
Q

Blood Glucose normal range

A

80-120

27
Q

hypoglycemia

A

< 60-80 mg/dL is a symptomatic diabetic

28
Q

What happens when blood glucose is less than 50mg/dL

A

significant alternations in mental status

29
Q

Blood glucose level 140mg/dL

A

hyperglycemia

30
Q

if the patient hasn’t eaten enough calories, thrown up or taken insulin

A

insulin shock

31
Q

if the patient is unresponsive…

A

you can’t give anything by mouth - can give them 02

32
Q

glucometer

A

meter to
when you go to do this wipe with alcohol - wipe that off and then squeeze the blood

low 500

33
Q

tube of glucose

A

25 gm
will work as long as the patient is not a brittle diabetic at the end of the road
works slowly
if it is not working get ALS there

34
Q

seizure

A

a sudden change in sensation, behavior, or movement. The most severe form of seizure produces violent muscle contraction.

rapid firing of electrons in the brain

35
Q

Causes of Seizure

A

Normal functions of the brain are upset by injury, infection or disease the brains electrical activity can become irregular.

Hypoxia
Stoke
Traumatic Brain Injury
Toxins
Hypoglycemia
Brain Tumor
Congenital Brain Defects
Infection of the Brain
Metabolic
Idiopathic

Epilepsy
Eclampsia
Heat Strojke

36
Q

can give O2

A

.

37
Q

know the 3 stages of a seizure

A

tonic - rigid - stiffening for no more than 30 sec
clonic - jerk violently usually 1-2 min (up to 5)
postictal - convulsions stop - regain consciousness and may be drowsy

38
Q

What seizure are not preceded by an aura

A

grand mal

39
Q

Partial Seizures

A

affect only one side, or part, of the brain. May or may not be conscious.

40
Q

Generalized Seizures

A

affect the entire brain and the consciousness of the patient

41
Q

Greatest cause of seizures in adults

A

in adults greatest reason people have seizures is because the person don’t take the medicine

42
Q

TIA

A

plaque in the arteries -similar to angina in the heart

43
Q

75% of all strokes are caused by embolus

25% are caused by a bleed

A

.

44
Q

brain aneurysm

A

bad headache

45
Q

hemiparesis

A

weakness on one side of the body

46
Q

most common cause of aneurysm occurring

A

high blood pressure

47
Q

aphasia

A

difficulty in speaking or communicating

48
Q

FAST

A

Face - ask to smile
Arms - hold up palm up do you see drift
Speech - silly sentence
Time - when

test only good for the initial test
if you fail one it is a stroke alert
time between onset and TPA can be no more than 3 hours

49
Q

tonic-clonic seizure

A

a generalized seizure in which the patient loses consciousness and has jerking movements of paired muscle groups

50
Q

postictal phase

A

the period of time immediately following a tonic-clonic seizure in which the patient goes from full loss of consciousness to full mental status

51
Q

aura

A

a sensation experiences by a seizure patient right before the seizure, which might be a smell sound or general feeling

52
Q

insulin

A

a hormone produced by the pancreas or taken as a medication by any diabetics

53
Q

status epilepticus

A

a prolonged seizure or situation when person suffers two or more convulsive seizures with our regaining full consciousness

54
Q

syncope

A

fainting

55
Q

altered mental status

A

common cause - hypoxia
oxygen to the patient during the primary assessment

Secondary assessment
altered mental status indicates a serious underlying issue.

do a good body systems exam and complete history

ask bystanders if this is the patients normal

EMT Test 3 (11 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions