Medical, OB/GYN Flashcards
Placenta previa
Pregnancy complication where the placenta covers the cervix
Characterized by painless moderate to severe bleeding
Abruptio placentae
When the placenta separates from the uterus wall and causes painful moderate to severe bleeding
Preclampsia
Serious pregnancy condition that occurs after 20th week of pregnancy.
Characterized by hypertension, protein in urine and severe swelling in hands and feet, and headaches
Eclampsia
a life-threatening pregnancy-related emergency that occurs when a pregnant person with preeclampsia develops seizures or coma:
What is compensated shock and its signs and symptoms
Earlier stage of shock
Signs and symptoms: restlessness, anxiety, altered mental status, shortness of breath; cool,clammy, skin; narrowing pulse pressure; pallor/cyanosis; nausea and vomiting; rapid breathing
Febrile seizure
Common in children between six months and six years of age
Characterized by generalized tonic-clonic seizure, do not last more than 15 minutes and have a short or absent postictal state, occur in children who experience a sudden spike in body temperature
Interventions: Assessment of ABCs, cooling measures, and rapid transport
What is Epilepsy? And what are its signs and symptoms
brain condition that causes recurring seizures.
Diagnosed if you’ve had at least two unprovoked seizures at least 24 hours apart
Symptoms
Temporary confusion.
Stiff muscles.
Uncontrollable jerking movements of extremities
Loss of consciousness.
Anxiety
What position should patients in shock be put in? Pregnant? Chest pain or respiratory distress
- Supine
- Transported on their left side
- Fowler or semi-fowler
What are common causes of seizures in adults
Epilepsy, tumors, infections, a head injury or scar tissue from a previous head injury, stroke, hypoxia, hypoglycemia, poisoning, drug overdose or withdrawal, or fever.
What should you do to slow the bleeding after the placenta has been delivered?
Massage the uterus
What is neurogenic shock and its causes
Neurogenic shock occurs when the nervous system that controls cardiac contraction/relaxation is damaged.
Commonly due to damage to the upper cervical levels of the spine
What is Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and what are its signs and symptoms
Any form of bleeding in the GI tract
Signs and symptoms: Vomiting bright red blood or coffee-ground material, and Melena (dark tarry stool)
What is appendicitis and its signs and symptoms?
Inflammation of the appendix
Signs and symptoms: Right lower quadrant pain and rebound tenderness are common. Nausea and vomiting are likely
What is a thromboembolism
a portion of a blood clot that breaks from its original position and occludes a smaller vein or artery.
What is pancreatitis? Causes? Signs and symptoms?
Definition: the swelling (inflammation) of the pancreas.
Causes: An obstructing gallstone, alcohol abuse, and other diseases
Signs and symptoms:
1. abdominal pain that worsens after eating
2. severe pain in the upper right or left abdominal quadrant that radiates to the back
3. nausea and vomiting
4. abdominal tenderness
What does amniotic fluid with a greenish color indicate?
Presence of meconium (fetal stool) may happen after water is broken
What are the components of APGAR score
appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration
What is diabetic ketoacidosis and its signs and symptoms?
Definition: a serious and potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes that occurs when the body doesn’t have enough insulin to allow blood sugar into cells for energy
Signs and symptoms:
- blood glucose levels above 400 mg/dL
- rapid, deep respirations (Kussmaul respirations)
- fruity breath odor
- intense thirst
- warm, dry skin
- abdominal pain
What treatment is indicated for nontraumatic vaginal bleeding?
Place a sanitary pad to absorb the blood
What does an opioid overdose present with?
sedation/unconsciousness, bradypnea, cyanosis, and pinpoint pupils.
Spina bifida
birth condition caused by the incomplete closure of the spinal column during fetal development, exposing part of the spinal cord.
Often, patients with spina bifida have partial or full paralysis, incontinence, and an extreme allergy to latex products.
Metabolic acidosis
Life-threatening condition that occurs when there is too much acid in the body’s blood.
Happens when the body produces too much acid or cannot get rid of enough
Supine hypotensive syndrome
A condition in pregnant women in which there is compression of the inferior vena cava by the pregnant uterus when the patient lies supine.
This ultimately results in hypotension as the amount of blood being returned to the heart is reduced
What is the most dependable indicator of shock that an EMT can assess?
Mean Arterial Pressure as it is = (heart rate x stroke volume) x systemic vascular resistance
Decompensated shock and signs and symptoms
a late phase of shock that occurs when the body’s compensatory mechanisms can’t maintain adequate blood flow to vital organs and the brain.
Also occurs when blood volume is decreased by more than 30%
Signs and symptoms
- systolic blood pressure below 90 mmHg
- declining mental status
- labored or irregular bleeding
- ashen, mottled, cyanotic skin
- thready or absent peripheral pulses
- dull eyes; dilated pupils
- poor urinary output
What is the proper way and location for performing abdominal thrusts on a child?
- Kneeling behind the child, wrap your arms around the child’s body.
- Make a fist and place your thumb just above the umbilicus, well below the lower tip of the sternum.
- The opposite hand is placed over the fist, and thrusts are performed in an inward and upward direction.
What are the methods of transmission for hepatitis A, B, and C
Hepatitis A is spread by foodborne transmission
Hepatitis B is spread blood or bodily fluids from sexual practices
Hepatitis C is spread through needles
What is hemodialysis and its complications
Treatment that filters a person’s blood when their kidneys are no longer able to do so.
Complications:
Hypotension
Electrolyte imbalance,
muscle cramps
Altered mental status,
Infection
Bleeding from the access site
What is Cholecystitis? Signs and symptoms?
Inflammation of gallbladder
Signs and symptoms
upper-right-quadrant abdominal pain (especially after eating fatty foods)
referred pain to the right shoulder
nausea
vomiting
fever
jaundice
loose, light-colored bowel movements
What are considered presumptive signs of death?
Profound cyanosis
Unresponsive to painful stimuli
Absence of chest rise and fall
generalized (tonic-clonic) seizure
Results from abnormal electrical discharges from large areas in the brain, usually involving both hemispheres.
Signs and symptoms: unconsciousness and severe, generalized twitching of the muscles that lasts several minutes or longer.
partial (focal) seizure
Begins in one part of the brain. Partial seizures are classified as simple or complex.
In a simple partial seizure, there is no change in the level of consciousness.
Signs and symptoms: weakness, dizziness, numbness, visual changes, and unusual smells or tastes.
A complex partial seizure will exhibit changes in mental status and unusual interaction with the patient and their environment. It results from abnormal discharges from the brain’s temporal lobe.
Signs and symptoms: eye blinking, lip-smacking, and isolated jerking and twitching movements in one part of the body.
What is the GEMS diamond acronym and what makes up the diamond?
The GEMS diamond was created to help EMTs remember what is different about older patients.
G: Geriatric patients
E: Environmental conditions
M: Medical assessment
S: Social assessment
Urticaria (hives)
Defined as small areas of generalized itching and burning that appear as multiple raised areas on the skin.
Anarthria
A severe form of motor speech disorder that occurs when a person cannot coordinate the muscles used for speaking.
Hematuria
Blood in the urine
What is the medical term for someone who was born with unequal pupils?
Anisocoria
Cataracts
Defined as the clouding of the lenses of the eye, which develops slowly over time. Cataracts typically affect adults over the age of 50, but they have been known to affect younger adults and children.
Glaucoma
Where the lens inside the eye or the front surface of the eye is curved differently in one direction than the other. Patients who have astigmatism often complain of distorted or blurred vision.
hat symptoms would you expect to find in a newborn with fetal alcohol syndrome?
Prematurity, low birth weight, and severe respiratory depression
What causes migraines?
Changes in blood vessel size at the base of the brain
Ischemic stroke
Occurs when the blood flow through the cerebral arteries is blocked.
Accounts for 80% of all strokes and is the most common.
Blood clots inside a vessel in the brain block blood flow to a particular part of the brain, resulting in an ischemic stroke.
Hemorrhagic stroke
Occurs when a blood vessel ruptures and causes increased pressure in the brain from the accumulated blood. When the blood vessels rupture, the accumulated blood forms a blood clot, which compresses the brain tissue next to it.
When the tissue is compressed, oxygenated blood cannot enter the area, and the brain’s cells start dying. Cerebral hemorrhages are often fatal to the patient.
What does a patient have when they have suffered a traumatic head injury and can remember everything except for the events leading up the the injury?
Retrograde amnesia
What is rigor mortis?
The stiffening of the body’s muscles after death
Occurs between 2 and 12 hours after death.
What are signs of increased intracranial pressure?
headache
altered mental status (lethargy, obtundation, nonreactive pupils)
bradycardia,
nausea, vomiting,
changes in respiration (Cheyne-Stokes, ataxic rhythms).
What are the primary differences between diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS)
In HHS blood glucose levels are higher, and ketones are typically absent.
More common in individuals with type II diabetes
DKA: Blood glucose levels are lower, and ketones are typically present. More common in individuals with type I diabetes
Hyperosmolar Hypoglycemic State (HHS)
Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) is a life-threatening complication of diabetes — mainly Type 2 diabetes. HHS happens when your blood glucose (sugar) levels are too high for a long period, leading to severe dehydration and confusion.
What happens during a heatstroke?
Early sign is altered mental status. Patient may become unresponsive and possibly have a seizure. Bradycardia, hypotension and tachypnea occurs.
Gestational diabetes
High blood sugar during pregnancy
What would you expect a diabetic patient’s skin to look and feel like?
Cool and clammy skin
What causes pain in a sickle cell crisis?
The red blood cells are unable to carry oxygen due to their abnormal shape, which causes ischemia in the body’s tissues
