Wk 9: Quiz Flashcards
In which of the following situations would a person lose heat by conduction?
Sitting on cold metal bleachers at a football game
Which of the following is the most significant way in which the body cools itself?
perspiration
Which of the following terms describes the temperature of the surrounding air?
ambient temperature
Who is the most susceptible to hypothermia?
21-year-old near-drowning patient on a warm spring day
Why is it important to remove constricting items such as rings before thawing a frozen extremity?
Because thawed areas often swell
Which of the following is acceptable when actively rewarming a hypothermic patient?
Applying humidified oxygen
When actively rewarming a frostbitten extremity in warm water, you should change the water when the temperature falls below ________ °F.
100-105
To assess skin temperature for a possibly hypothermic patient, the EMT should place the back of his hand against which part of the patient’s body?
abdomen
Why is it important to keep patients at rest when they are hypothermic?
Since the blood is coldest in the extremities, exercise or unnecessary movement could quickly circulate the cold blood and lower the core body temperature.
When resuscitating a hypothermic patient in cardiac arrest, resuscitation attempts must continue until the patient has:
been rewarmed
You are on a stand-by at a local high school football game. One of the football players comes over to the ambulance and complains that his face feels numb and that he has a burning sensation in his fingers. You notice that the patient’s cheeks and fingers are bright red. How should you treat the patient?
Allow the patient to warm up inside the ambulance by passive rewarming measures.
In cases of extreme hypothermia, you will find the patient unconscious, with no discernible vital signs, and skin cold to your touch with stiff joints as if they appear dead. What is the emergency care for these patients?
Assess the carotid pulse for 30 to 45 seconds; if there is no pulse, start CPR immediately and prepare to apply the AED.
You arrive on the scene and find an unresponsive homeless man lying in the alleyway clutching a wine bottle. He is wearing a long-sleeved shirt, but does not have pants on. His skin feels cold to the touch. The week’s temperatures have not been above 50°F. Which of the following should you do immediately after ensuring the patient has an adequate airway?
check the carotid pulse
The term gangrene means tissue:
death
The term blanching, used to describe localized cold injury, means the tissue has turned to which of the following colors?
white or lighter
Your patient is a 24-year-old man who smoked a cigarette dipped in formaldehyde and then went outside with no shoes on and walked in the snow for about an hour. He has deep local cold injuries to both feet. Which of the following should be included in your management of this patient?
gradually rewarm both feet
Heat stroke is caused by which of the following mechanisms?
Failure of temperature regulation mechanisms
You respond to a construction site on a very hot summer day for a person “not acting right.” You find a 44-year-old male patient seated in a work vehicle with the air conditioner on maximum. Coworkers state the patient was working for the last 2 hours pouring concrete when he started “speaking gibberish” and nearly collapsed. The patient is responsive to verbal stimuli. Your initial vital signs are blood pressure 90/60, pulse 136, and respiratory rate 24. The patient’s skin is cool to the touch and dry, but his shirt is wet with visible salt rings. You suspect:
heat exhaustion
Regarding drowning in adults, which of the following statements is true?
The colder the water, the better the chances of survival in either saltwater or freshwater drowning.
You have responded to a local pool for a drowning patient. Lifeguards have pulled the patient out of the pool prior to your arrival. You find a 22-year-old male patient unresponsive with agonal respirations and a weak carotid pulse. Bystanders state the patient was not using the diving board and was found in the shallow end. Why are cervical spine precautions necessary?
The patient may have suffered a spinal injury by jumping in shallow water.
