medical exam 1 Flashcards
Epinephrine acts as a specific antidote to:
A) adrenaline
B) histamine
C) asthma
D) bronchitis
B) histamine
Which of these medications is included in the EMT scope of practice?
A) Pepcid
B) Oxygen
C) 50% dextrose (D50)
D) Benadryl
B) Oxygen
After you assist a patient with use of her EpiPen, she tells you that it is much easier for her to breathe. However, her heart rate has increased from 92 to 118 beats/min. Regarding the epinephrine, the EMT recognizes the increased heart rate as a(n):
A) Therapeutic effect
B) Side effect
C) Contraindication
D) Allergy
B) Side effect
A patient with difficulty breathing has a metered-dose inhaler (MDI). Which of these would be a likely type of medication contained in the MDI?
A) Albuterol
B) Steroids
C) Oxygen
D) Epinephrine
A) Albuterol
You are by the side of an alert and oriented 56-year-old male patient who complains of generalized weakness and a pounding headache. His pulse is 104, respirations are 18 breaths/min, and blood pressure is 218/110 mmHg. He has a history of high blood pressure, for which he takes lisinopril. He states that he has not taken the Lisinopril for 2 weeks and hands you a container with the medication inside. You would:
A) Assist the patient in taking the lisinopril
B) Ensure that it is the patient’s medication and then administer it
C) Contact medical direction to request an order for lisinopril administration by you
D) Continue treatment and transport the patient to the hospital
D) Continue treatment and transport the patient to the hospital
As an EMT, you may assist patients in taking which kind of prescribed medication?
A) Inhalers used for difficulty breathing
B) Medications for high blood pressure
C) Drugs for heart-rhythm disorders
D) Seizure-control medications
A) Inhalers used for difficulty breathing
A patient with a history of diabetes is confused and irritable. According to family members, he accidentally took too much insulin this morning and did not eat breakfast. Since he is conscious with an intact gag reflex, medical direction orders you to administer oral glucose. Which component of this situation best represents the indication for the medication?
A) Medical command authorization
B) Confusion and irritability
C) History of diabetes
D) High blood sugar
B) Confusion and irritability
A patient with chest pain tells you that he feels the same now as when he had a heart attack 2 years ago. He is diaphoretic, nauseated, and vomiting; he has a pulse of 84, respirations of 16 breaths/min, and a blood pressure of 78/50 mmHg. The patient is allergic to aspirin. He asks you to assist him in taking one of his nitroglycerin pills because his arthritis makes it too hard for him to open the medication bottle. Which of the assessment findings represents a contraindication to the nitroglycerin?
A) Blood pressure of 78/50 mmHg
B) Heart rate less than 100
C) Nausea and vomiting
D) Allergy to aspirin
A) Blood pressure of 78/50 mmHg
A 59-year-old male patient has summoned EMS for crushing chest pain. He states that he needs his nitroglycerin, but it is in his car in a nearby parking lot. A friend of the patient explains that he also takes nitroglycerin and hands you his bottle of nitroglycerin. The patient appears very ill, and he says that this chest pain is the worst he’s ever experienced. Given the patient’s condition, your best action would be to:
A) Administer the friend’s nitroglycerin
B) Have the patient retrieve his nitroglycerin from the car
C) Ask the friend to get the patient’s nitroglycerin from his car quickly
D) Administer his friend’s nitroglycerin now, but retrieve patient’s nitroglycerin bottle from his car so you have proof and verification that this medication was appropriate to administer
C) Ask the friend to get the patient’s nitroglycerin from his car quickly
After administering oral glucose to a patient with altered mental status, which of these findings best indicates a positive therapeutic effect or response to the medication?
A) Blood pressure decrease from 156/90 to 120/80 mmHg
B) No signs or symptoms of an allergic reaction
C) Pulse oximeter reading of 99% without supplemental oxygen
D) Mental status that is now alert and oriented
D) Mental status that is now alert and oriented
The EMT should consider aspirin for a patient with:
A) Chest discomfort
B) Headache
C) Shortness of breath
D) Fever
A) Chest discomfort
Medical direction has ordered you to administer 162 mg of aspirin to a patient with chest pain. Your best response to this order would be:
A) “Confirmed. I will recontact you with any changes in the patient’s condition.”
B) “Copy. I will administer the medication as per your instruction.”
C) “Received. I will administer 162 mg of aspirin orally.”
D) “Affirmative. The patient has no allergies so I will administer the aspirin orally.”
C) “Received. I will administer 162 mg of aspirin orally.”
The label on a patient’s prescribed metered-dose inhaler reads as follows: “Administer three puffs as needed for shortness of breath.” Your protocols state that you can assist with only two puffs without medical direction consultation. The patient is extremely short of breath. What should you do?
A) Administer three puffs
B) Do not administer the medication
C) Contact medical direction for orders to administer three puffs
D) Administer two puffs
C) Contact medical direction for orders to administer three puffs
Medical direction has ordered you to assist a patient in taking his metered-dose inhaler (MDI). After placing the patient’s lips on the mouthpiece, which instruction would be most appropriate?
A) “Please hold your breath and I will administer the medication.”
B) “Please inhale, then hold your breath, and I will give you the medication.”
C) “Please inhale slowly and I will administer the medication, then hold your breath.”
D) “Please exhale, hold your breath, and I will administer the medication.”
C) “Please inhale slowly and I will administer the medication, then hold your breath.”
A beta-2 medication benefits a patient by:
A) Diminishing the need for oxygen
B) Slowing the respiratory and heart rate
C) Eliminating chest pain
D) Dilating the small airways
D) Dilating the small airways
A confused, lethargic, and nonverbal 50-year-old female patient has altered mental status. You are told she has a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The primary assessment reveals a respiration rate of 6 breaths/min and cool, clammy skin with cyanosis around the lips. What should be your priority management?
A) Administer oxygen by nasal cannula at 15 lpm
B) Assist respirations with positive pressure ventilation
C) Administer oxygen by nonrebreather mask at 15 lpm
D) Sit the patient up, assess lung sounds, and obtain a blood pressure
B) Assist respirations with positive pressure ventilation
When arrive on scene, a family member directs you to a bedroom where a 62-year-old male patient is in respiratory distress. During the scene size-up, which finding would most strongly suggest that the patient suffers from a chronic respiratory disease?
A) Furnace turned on high with the humidifier running
B) Bottles of aspirin and nitroglycerin on the nightstand
C) Patient in a chair in tripod position and has a barrel-shaped chest
D) Smell of cigarettes in house and the patient is obese
C) Patient in a chair in tripod position and has a barrel-shaped chest
An alert and oriented 45-year-old female patient complains of shortness of breath. Although her respiratory volume and rate are satisfactory, you note cyanosis in her fingertips and you cannot get the pulse oximeter to show a reading. What should be your next action?
A) Administer supplemental oxygen
B) Assist respirations with the bag-valve mask
C) Place a nasopharyngeal airway and assist respirations
D) Move the patient to the stretcher for immediate and rapid transport
A) Administer supplemental oxygen
On scene, you suspect that a young female patient is suffering from hyperventilation syndrome. Which additional finding would best assist you in confirming this suspicion?
A) Heart rate of 64 beats/min
B) Urinary incontinence
C) Breathing through the mouth
D) Spasm of the hands
D) Spasm of the hands
