Chapter 21

The poison control center will be able to provide you with the most information regarding the appropriate treatment for a patient with a drug overdose if the center

Is aware of the substance that is involved

Activated charcoal may be indicated for a patient who ingested

aspirin

Substance abuse is most accurately defined as

knowingly misusing a substance to produce a desired effect

Signs and symptoms of a sympathomimetic drug overdose include

tachycardia

In general, injected poisons are impossible to dilute or remove because they

Are usually absorbed quickly into the body

You respond to a college campus for a young man who is acting strangely. After law enforcement has secured the scene, you enter the patients dorm room and find him sitting on the edge of the bed; he appears agitated. As you approach him, you note that he has dried blood around both nostrils. He is breathing adequately, his pulse is rapid and irregular, and his blood pressure is 200/100 mmHg. Treatment for this patient includes:

Attempting to calm him and giving oxygen if tolerated

Your priority in caring for a patient with a surface contact poisoning is to

Avoid contaminating yourself

The major side effect associated with administration of activated charcoal is

Black stool

A 25 yr old man overdosed on heroin and is unresponsive. His breathing is slow and shallow and he is bradycardic. He has track marks on both arms. The emt should:

Insert a nasal airway and ventilate with a bvm

Airborne substances should be diluted with:

Oxygen

You are dispatched to a local nursery for a 39 yr female who is sick. When you arrive, you find the patient lying on the floor. She is semiconscious, has copious amounts of saliva coming from her mouth, and is incontinent of urine. You quickly feel her pulse and note that it is very slow. Immediate management for this patient should include:

Thoroughly suctioning her oropharynx.

A 4-year-old, 15-kg male ingested an unknown quantity of acetaminophen (Tylenol). The child's mother states that she does not know when the ingestion occurred. The child is conscious and alert and in no apparent distress. The EMT should:

administer 15 g of activated charcoal.

after administering activated charcoal to a patient, it is MOST important to

be alert for vomiting.

Your paramedic partner administers atropine to a 49-year-old male with bradycardia. Which of the following side effects would you expect the patient to experience?

dry mucous membranes

Common names for activated charcoal include all of the following, EXCEPT:

fructose

Before giving activated charcoal, you should:

obtain approval form medical control