EMT Medical Exam

When gathering a patient's medications, you find the following: Isordil, Lasix, Nexium, and Digoxin. Which of these medications can be obtained over-the-counter (OTC)?

B. aspirin

Common side effects of nitroglycerin include all of the following except:

hypertension

You are transporting a 33-year-old male who was involved in a motor vehicle crash. You have addressed all immediate and potentially life-threatening conditions and have stabilized his condition with the appropriate treatment. With an estimated time of arrival at the hospital of 20 minutes, you should:

reassess his condition in 5 minutes

You are assessing a 49-year-old man who, according to his wife, experienced a sudden, severe headache and then passed out. He is unresponsive and has slow, irregular breathing. His blood pressure is 190/94 mm Hg and his pulse rate is 50 beats/min. His wife tells you that he has hypertension and diabetes. He has MOST likely experienced:

A) a ruptured cerebral artery

If a woman with vaginal bleeding reports syncope, the EMT should assume that she:

A) is in shock

Common signs and symptoms of AMI include all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) pain exacerbated by breathing

What is the minute volume of a patient with a tidal volume of 500 mL, a dead space volume of 150 mL, and a respiratory rate of 16 breaths/min?

A. 5,600 mL (Tidal volume - Dead space) x Respiratory Rate = Minute Volume (aka Alveolar ventilation)

To which of the following diabetic patients should you administer oral glucose?

A. a confused 55 year old male with tachycardia and pallor

A 62 year old man with a history of CHF presents with severe respiratory distress and with an oxygen saturation of 82%. When you auscultate his lungs, you hear widespread rales. He is conscious and alert, is able to follow simple commands, and can only speak in two-to-three word sentences at a time. You should:

A. apply a CPAP device, monitor his BP, and observe him for signs of improvement or deterioration

Which of the following statements regarding gastrointestinal bleeding is correct?

A. bleeding within the GI tract is a sx of another disease, not a disease itself.

Cardiogenic shock following AMI is caused by:

A. decreased pumping force of the heart muscle

Neurogenic shock occurs when

A. failure of the nervous system causes widespread vasodilation.

When a woman presents with abdominal pain or other vague symptoms, the EMT is often unable to determine the nature of the problem until he or she:

A. has gathered patient history information

A 22 year old female patient is complaining of dyspnea and numbness and tingling in her hands and feed after an argument with her fiance. Her respirations are 40 breaths/min. You should:

A. provide reassurance and give oxygen as needed

Dyspnea is MOST accurately defined as:

A. shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

Which of the following statements regarding ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) is correct?

B) V-fib results in an absence of forward blood flow In V-Fib, the heart is not pumping any blood and the patient is pulseless. **** V-fib = NO PULSE **** V-tach = FAST/IRREGULAR PULSE

When assessing an 80-year-old patient in shock, it is important to remember that:

B) age-related changes in the cardiovascular system may make the patient less able to compensate for decreased perfusion.

To select the proper size oropharyngeal airway, you should measure from the:

B) corner of the mouth to the earlobe

You are dispatched to an apartment complex where a 21-year-old female has apparently overdosed on several narcotic medications. She is semiconscious and has slow, shallow respirations. You should:

B) insert a nasopharyngeal airway and begin assisted ventilation

Which of the following medication routes has the slowest rate of absorption?

B) oral

You are ventilating a 40-year-old uninjured man who is apneic but has a pulse. When your partner reassesses his blood pressure, he notes that it has decreased significantly from previous readings. You elevate the patient's legs, but this action has no effect. You should:

B) reduce the rate or volume of the ventilations you are delivering - with positive pressure breathing, the rate of venous return (BP) is decreased due to the increase in intrathoracic pressure in the chest wall

You are dispatched to a residence for a 67 year old female who was awakened by shortness breath and sharp chest pain. Her husband tells you that she was recently discharged from the hospital after having hip surgery. Your assessment reveals dried blood around her mouth, facial cyanosis, and an oxygen saturation of 88%. You should suspect:

B. acute pulmonary embolism

The process of exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide between the alveoli and the blood of the capillaries is called:

B. external respiration

You are ventilating an apenic woman with a BVM. She has dentures, which are tight fitting, Adequate chest rise is originally present with each ventilation and the patient's O2sat reads 96%. When you reassess the patency of her airway, however, you note that her dentures are now loose, and you are finidng it more difficult to ventilate. You should:

B. remove her dentures, resume ventilations, and assess for adequate chest rise

While providing CPAP to a patient in severe respiratory distress, you note that his heart rate has increased by 20 beats/min. He is conscious, but is no longer following verbal commands. You should:

B. remove the CPAP device and ventilate him with a bag-valve mask.

If gastric distention begins to make positive-pressure ventilation difficult, you should:

B. reposition the patient's airway

A 70 year old female was recently discharged from the hospital following a total hip replacement. Today, she presents with restlessness, tachycardia, and a BP of 100/64 mmHg. Her skin is hot and moist. You should be MOST suspicious that she is experiencing:

B. septic shock

Which of the following statements regarding hepatitis B transmission is incorrect?

C) Everyone who is vaccinated develops immediate immunity.

Kussmaul respirations are an indication that the body is:

C) attempting to eliminate acids from the blood

A 71-year-old male is semiconscious following a sudden, severe headache. There is vomitus around his mouth and his respirations are slow and shallow. The EMT must immediately:

C) perform oropharyngeal suctioning

An absence seizure is also referred to as a:

C) petit mal seizure

Which of the following clinical signs is unique to anaphylactic shock?:

C) wheezing

A 50-year-old man with diabetes has an altered mental status and is unable to tell you when he last ate or took his insulin. Your glucometer keeps malfunctioning and you are unable to determine his blood glucose level. Which of the following clinical signs would MOST likely lead you to the correct diagnosis? Select one:

C. Deep and rapid breathing

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a term used to describe:

C. a group of symptoms that are caused by myocardial ischemia

Whenever possible, a female sexual assault victim should be:

C. given the option of being treated by a female EMT.

The left ventricle has the thickest walls because it:

C. pumps blood into the aorta and systemic circulation.

You are dispatched to a convenience store for a patient who passed out. Upon arriving at the scene, you find two bystanders performing CPR on the patient, a 58 year old male. Your initial action should be to:

C. quickly apply the AED and follow the prompts

when assessing for fluid collection in the lungs during auscultation of lung sounds, you should

C. start at the lower lung fields and determine at which level you start hearing clear breath sounds

A young male is unresponsive after overdosing on an opioid. He is not breathing and his pulse is weak. The EMT should immediately:

C. ventilate with a BVM

A 60-year-old man complains of chest pain. He is conscious and alert and denies shortness of breath. Which of the following questions would be the MOST appropriate to ask him?

D) "Do you have any heart problems or take any medications?"

Which of the following statements regarding smooth muscle is correct?

D) A person has no voluntary control over smooth muscle

A 73 year old man presents with a generalized rash, which he thinks may have been caused by an antibiotic that he recently began taking. He has a history of CAD, HTN, and emphysema. He is conscious and alert, his BP is 144 /94 mmHg and his pulse is 64 beats/min and regular. You auscultate his breath sounds and hear scattered wheezing, although he is not experiencing respiratory distress. You should:

D. administer oxygen if needed, transport the patient and monitor him for signs of deterioration

A 58 year old man complains of chest discomfort and nausea. He is conscious and alert; his blood pressure is 140/90 mmHg his pulse is 104 BPM and his respirations are 16 breaths/min. your partner has applied supplemental oxygen. Prior to assisting the patient with one of his prescribed nitroglycerin tablets, you ask him if he takes medication to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) and he tells you that he does. You should:

D. ask him what he takes, how much, and when he last took it

You are dispatched to a residence for a 56 year old male with an altered mental status. Upon arrival at the scene, the patient's wife tells you that he complained of chest pain the day before, but would not allow her to call EMS. The patient is semiconscious; has rapid, shallow respirations; and has a thready pulse. You should:

D. begin ventilatory assistance

A 40 year old man is in cardiac arrest. Your partner is performing CPR. You are attaching the AED when the patient's wife tells you that he has an automatic implanted cardiac defibrillator (AICD). The AED advises that a shock is indicated. What should you do?

D. deliver the shock followed by immediate resumption of CPR

You are dispatched to a residence where a middle aged man was found unconscious in his front yard. There are no witnessess who can tell you what happened. You find him in a prone position; his eyes are closed and he is not moving. Your FIRST action should be to:

D. palpate for the presence of a carotid pulse

Abdominal thrusts in a conscious child or adult with a severe upper airway obstruction are performed:

D. until he/she loses consciousness

When assessing an unresponsive diabetic patient, the primary visible difference between hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia is the:

D.rate and depth of breathing.

The MOST appropriate treatment for a patient with a mild upper airway obstruction includes:

a. administering oxygen and transporting immediately.

You are assessing a 49-year-old man who complains of chest pressure that began the night before. He is conscious, but anxious, and tells you he has a history of angina and hypertension. After applying high-flow oxygen, you expose his chest to auscultate his lungs and note that he has a nitroglycerin patch on his right upper chest. His skin is cool and pale, his blood pressure is 78/50 mm Hg, and his pulse is 110 beats/min and irregular. You should:

remove the nitroglycerin patch, place him in a supine position and elevate his lower extremities, and prepare for immediate transport. - remove nitro because it can worsen the hypotension; elevate LE so blood doesn't pool