Chapter 32 EMT

A person's ability to shiver is lost when his or her body temperature falls below:

90°F (32°C).

Hypothermia occurs when the core body temperature falls below:

95°F (35°C).

The body's natural cooling mechanism, in which sweat is converted to a gas, is called:

evaporation.

Geriatric patients, newborns, and infants are especially prone to hyperthermia because they:

exhibit poor thermoregulation.

All of the following terms refer to a body part that is cold but not frozen, EXCEPT:

frostbite.

The EMT must assume that any unwitnessed water-related incident is accompanied by:

possible spinal injury.

Most of the serious injuries associated with scuba diving are caused by:

too rapid of an ascent.

Heat loss from the body through respiration occurs when:

warm air is exhaled into the atmosphere.

High humidity reduces the body's ability to lose heat through:

evaporation.

Which of the following would be the LEAST likely to occur in a patient with a core body temperature of between 89°F (32°C) and 92°F (33°C)?

Tachycardia

You are assessing a 33-year-old male who complains of severe abdominal pain, weakness, and nausea. He tells you that he was gathering wood to build a fire when he felt a sudden, sharp pain on the back of his hand. Your assessment reveals that the patient's abdomen is rigid and painful to palpation. You should suspect:

a black widow spider bite.

To assess a patient's general body temperature, pull back on your glove and place the back of your hand on his or her skin at the:

abdomen.

The MOST prominent symptom of decompression sickness is:

abdominal or joint pain.

A 30-year-old male was rescued after being lost in the woods for approximately 18 hours. The outside temperature is 30°F (−1°C). He is immediately placed in the warmed ambulance, where you perform a primary assessment. He is unresponsive, pale, and apneic. You should:

assess for a carotid pulse for up to 60 seconds.

The diving reflex may allow a person to survive extended periods of submersion in cold water secondary to:

bradycardia and a slowing of the metabolic rate.

The transfer of heat to circulating air, such as when cool air moves across the body's surface, is called:

convection.

All of the following snakes are pit vipers, EXCEPT for the:

coral snake.

When the body loses sweat, it also loses:

electrolytes

Covering a patient's _________ will significantly minimize radiation heat loss.

head

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

hot, dry skin.

Shivering is a mechanism in which the body generates heat by:

increasing the metabolic rate.

To obtain the MOST accurate reading of a patient's core body temperature, you should place a special hypothermia thermometer:

into the patient's rectum.

In contrast to the brown recluse spider, the black widow spider:

is large and has a red-orange hourglass mark on its abdomen.

A frostbitten foot can be identified by the presence of:

mottling and blisters.

You are dispatched to a local high school track and field event for a 16-year-old male who fainted. The outside temperature is approximately 95°F (35°C) with high humidity. Upon your arrival, the patient is conscious, alert, and complains of nausea and a headache. His skin is cool, clammy, and pale. You should:

move him into the cooled ambulance.

Signs and symptoms of an air embolism include all of the following, EXCEPT:

pale skin.

You are assessing a man with suspected hypothermia. The patient is conscious and alert, and is actively shivering. His respiratory rate is increased, but his breathing is unlabored, and the pulse oximeter reads 72%. The pulse oximetry reading is MOST likely:

secondary to decreased perfusion in the extremities.

You respond to a local lake where a diver complains of difficulty breathing that occurred immediately after rapidly ascending from a depth of approximately 30 feet. On assessment, you note that he has cyanosis around his lips and has pink froth coming from his nose and mouth. You should:

suction his mouth and nose, apply high-flow oxygen, monitor the patient's breath sounds for a pneumothorax, and contact medical control regarding transport to a recompression facility.

Burns associated with lightning strikes are typically:

superficial.

Which of the following conditions would be the LEAST likely to increase a person's risk of hypothermia?

Hyperglycemia