EMT Chapter 32- Environmental Emergencies

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.

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.

You are transporting a 28-year-old man with a frostbitten foot. The patient's vital signs are stable and he denies any other injuries or symptoms. The weather is treacherous and your transport time to the hospital is approximately 45 minutes. During transport, you should:

protect the affected part from further injury.

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

too rapid of an ascent.

Which of the following is an early sign of pit viper envenomation?

Local swelling and ecchymosis

Which of the following MOST accurately describes hyperthermia?

The body is exposed to more heat than it can lose.

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.

You and your partner respond to a park where several people were reportedly struck by lightning. When you arrive, you find three patients. The first patient is lying supine on the ground; he is unresponsive and does not appear to be breathing. The second patient is ambulatory, appears confused, and is holding his arm against his chest. The third patient is sitting on the ground holding the sides of his head. After calling for backup, you should:

assess the unresponsive patient's pulse, begin CPR starting with chest compressions if he is pulseless, and attach the AED as soon as possible.

In contrast to Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever:

can cause paralysis and cardiorespiratory collapse.

When a warm hand is immersed in water that is 70°F (21°C), heat is transferred from the hand to the water through a process called:

conduction.

Drowning is MOST accurately defined as:

death from suffocation after submersion in water.

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

hot, dry skin.

You receive a call to a residence for a sick patient. Upon your arrival, you find the patient, a 53-year-old diabetic male, lying down on his front porch. His wife tells you that he had been mowing the lawn in the heat for the past 3 hours. The patient is confused and has hot, moist skin. His pulse is weak and thready, and his blood pressure is 90/50 mm Hg. You should:

load him into the ambulance and begin rapid cooling interventions.

The venom of a black widow spider is toxic to the:

nervous system.

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.

A 31-year-old male was bitten on the leg by an unidentified snake. The patient is conscious and alert and in no apparent distress. Your assessment of his leg reveals two small puncture marks with minimal pain and swelling. In addition to administering oxygen and providing reassurance, further care for this patient should include:

supine positioning, splinting the leg, and transporting.