Medical Overview Flashcards
Involve injuries resulting from physical forces applied to the body
Trauma emergencies
Involve illnesses or conditions caused by disease
Medical emergencies
Medical patient assessment focuses on ___
The nature of illness, chief complaint, and symptoms
NOI
Nature of Illness
The general type of illness a patient is experiencing
NOI
Evaluation of the NOI for a medical patient will provide you with ___
An index of suspicion for different types of serious and/or life-threatening underlying illnesses
Your awareness and concern for potentially serious underlying and unseen injuries or illnesses
Index of suspicion
Patients who should be considered to be in serious condition and need rapid transport
- Unconscious
- Altered mental status
- Airway or breathing problems
- Obvious circulation problems such as severe bleeding or signs of shock
Patients identified as needing rapid transport still require ___
Additional assessment and care
If you choose to use lights and siren, you should be able to ___
Specifically describe in your report why such emergency transport was medically necessary and why the improved arrival time justified the increased risk to which you exposed the patient and the public at large
Categories of modes of transportation
- Ground
- Air
Medical condition caused by the growth and spread of small, harmful organisms within the body
Infectious disease
A disease that can be spread from one person or species to another
Communicable disease
Occurs when new cases of a disease in a human population substantially exceed the number expected based on recent experience
Epidemic
An outbreak that occurs on a global scale
Pandemic
All strains of influenza are spread by ___
Direct contact with nasal secretions and aerosolized droplets from coughing and sneezing by infected people
Tiny fluid-filled blister on the lips and genitals from herpes
Vesicles
Herpes primary mode of infection
Close personal contact
Transmission of HIV
Sexual contact or exposure to blood or body fluids
Refers to an inflammation (and often infection) of the liver
Hepatitis
Grow and reproduce outside the human cell in the appropriate temperature and with the appropriate nutrients
Bacteria
Smaller than bacteria; multiply only inside a host and die when exposed to the environment
Viruses
Similar to bacteria in that they require the appropriate nutrients and organic material to grow
Fungi
Single-celled microscopic organisms, some of which cause disease
Protozoa (parasites)
Invertebrates with long, flexible, rounded, or flattened bodies
Helminths (parasites)
Early signs of viral hepatitis
- Loss of appetite
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Sore throat
- Cough
- Muscle & joint pain
Signs of viral hepatitis several weeks later
- Jaundice
- RUQ pain
Hepatitis A is transmitted ___
Orally through oral or fecal contamination
Hepatitis B and C are transmitted ___
Through vehicles other than food or water
The strength or ability of a pathogen to produce disease
Virulence
Inflammation of the meningeal coverings of the brain and spinal cord
Meningitis
Signs and symptoms of meningitis
- Fever
- Headache
- Stiff neck
- Altered mental status
Most contagious form of meningitis
Meningococcal meningitis
Meningitis can be treated with ___
Antibiotics
Meningitis is spread by ___
The exchange of respiratory secretions through coughing or sneezing
The only contagious form of TB
Respiratory TB
Whooping cough is also called ___
Pertussis
Airborne disease caused by bacteria that mostly affects children younger than 6
Whooping cough
Signs and symptoms of whooping cough
- Fever
- Whoop sounds that occur when the patient tries to inhale after a coughing attack
Up to 65% of people presenting with hand infections from the community have ___
MRSA
Signs and symptoms of MERS-CoV
- High fever
- Cough
- Muscle aches
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
Less common: - Renal failure
- Respiratory failure
- Death
