Chapter 21 - Toxicology - JBL

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

avoid contaminating yourself.

Before giving activated charcoal, you should:

obtain approval from medical control.

Stimulant

Agent that produces an excited state

Anticholinergic

An agent that blocks the parasympathetic nerves

Cholinergic

An agent that overstimulates body functions controlled by parasympathetic nerves

Which of the following is NOT considered a sign or symptom of alcohol withdrawal?

Chest pain

Opioid

Drug or agent with actions similar to morphine

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

You have responded to the home of a 26-year-old woman who has reportedly taken a large number of pills in an attempt to commit suicide. As you enter the living room, you see her sleeping in her chair, and several empty alcohol containers are present. She is breathing heavily. You are able to arouse her consciousness for a short period of time. Which course of action takes priority?

Have her take activated charcoal while she is conscious.

Airborne substances should be diluted with:

Oxygen

Which of the following statements regarding injected poisons is FALSE?

They are easily diluted once in the bloodstream.

Treatment for ingestion of poisonous plants includes all of the following, EXCEPT:

administering activated charcoal.

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

are usually absorbed quickly into the body.

The MOST important consideration in caring for a patient who has been exposed to an organophosphate insecticide or some other cholinergic agent is to:

avoid exposure yourself.

"Nerve gases" overstimulate normal body functions that are controlled by parasympathetic nerves, causing:

increased salivation.

Substance abuse is MOST accurately defined as:

knowingly misusing a substance to produce a desired effect.

Medical problems that may cause the patient to present as intoxicated include all of the following, EXCEPT:

syncope.

Signs and symptoms of a sympathomimetic drug overdose include:

tachycardia

You are dispatched to a local nursery for a 39-year-old 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.