Chapter 10 Patient Assessment

A 29-year-old male with a head injury opens his eyes when you speak to him, is confused as to the time and date, and is able to move all of his extremities on command. His Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score is:

13

In the adult, bradycardia is defined as a pulse rate less than ____ beats/min, and tachycardia is defined as a heart rate greater than _____ beats/min

60,100

The goal of oxygenation for most patients is an oxygen saturation of:

94% to 99%

Which of the following findings indicates that your patient has a patent airway?

Ability to speak

Treatment and transport priorities at the scene of a mass-casualty incident should be determined after:

All the patients have been triaged

Which of the following patient responses would establish the "E" in the SAMPLE history? A. "I was in the hospital a week ago" B. "I was mowing the lawn when the pain began" C. "The chest pain started about 45 minutes ago" D. "I am not having any difficulty breathing"

B. "I was mowing the lawn when pain began"

Which of the following would the EMT likely NOT perform on a responsive patient with a headache and no apparent life-threatening conditions? A. Assessment of oxygen saturation B. Noninvasive blood pressure monitoring C. Systematic head-to-toe examination D. Focused secondary assessment

C. Systematic head-to-toe examination

While en route to the scene of a shooting, the dispatcher advises you that the perpetrator has fled the scene. you should:

Confirm this information with law enforcement personnel at the scene

Which of the following medical history questions would be of LEAST pertinence in an acute situation?

"Does your mother have diabetes?"

Observations made when forming a general impression of a patient would include all of the following, EXCEPT: A. race and gender B. appearance C. level of distress D. pulse strength

D. pulse strength

A patient's short term memory is MOST likely intact if they correctly answer questions regarding:

Day and event

A patient with profuse sweating is referred to as being:

Diaphoretic

A blood pressure cuff that is too small for a patient's arm will give a:

Falsely high systolic and diastolic reading

Which of the following is an example of symptom?

Headache

Upon arriving at the scene of a patient with difficult breathing. you determine that the scene is safe. you enter the residence and find the patient sitting in a chair in respiratory distress. Your first action should be to:

Introduce yourself to the patient

As you assess the head of a patient with a suspected spinal injury, your partner should:

Maintain stabilization of the head

For which of the following patients is spinal immobilization clearly indicated?

Man with altered mental status after being exposed to blunt force trauma

When performing a reassessment of your patient, you should first:

Repeat the primary assessment

When you use the palpation method to obtain a blood pressure, the measurement you obtain is the:

Systolic blood pressure

Which of the following statements regarding the mechanism of the injury (MOI) is correct?

The MOI may allow you to predict the severity of a patient's injuries

A properly sized blood pressure cuff should cover:

Two thirds the length from the armpit to the crease at the elbow

When using the pulse oximeter as part of your assessment of a patient, it is important to remember that:

any situation that causes vasoconstriction or loss of red blood cells, such as anemia or bleeding, may result in an inaccurate or misleading value

You receive a call to a daycare center for an unresponsive 8-month old infant. Upon arrival, you perform an assessment and determine that the infant is not breathing. your next action should be to:

assess for brachial pulse for 5 to 10 seconds

Cyanosis of the skin is caused by:

decreased blood oxygen

Capnography is used to:

determine how much carbon dioxide is being exhaled

After performing a primary assessment, a rapid exam of the body should be performed to:

identify less-obvious injuries that require immediate treatment

The goal of the systematic head-to-toe-exam that is performed during the secondary assessment is to:

locate injuries not found in the primary assessment

The systematic head-to-toe assessment should be performed on:

patients with a significant MOI and unresponsive medical patients

During your assessment of a 6-month-old male with vomiting and diarrhea, you note that his capillary refill time is approximately 4 seconds. From this information, you should conclude that the infant's:

peripheral circulation is decreased

In responsive patients who are older than 1 year of age, you should palpate the pulse at the _________ artery

radial