Chapter 33 Environmental Emergencies

which of the following statements regarding lightning strikes is correct

Lighting often results in a brief period of asystole that resolves spontaneously

which of the following is an early sign of pit viper envenomation

Local swelling and ecchymosis

which of the following statements regarding drowning is correct

Patients with a submersion injury might deteriorate rapidly because of pulmonary injury and cerebral hypoxia

Breath-holding syncope is caused by a decreased stimulus to breathe and occurs when:

a swimmer hyperventilates prior to entering the water.

The MOST prominent symptom of decompression sickness is:

abdominal or joint pain.

A dysbarism injury refers to the signs and symptoms related to changes in:

barometric pressure

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.

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

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

convection

Drowning is MOST accurately defined as:

death from suffocation after submersion in water.

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

evaporation

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

exhibit poor thermoregulation

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

to obtain the most accurate reading of a patients core body temperature, you should place a special hypothermia thermometer

into the patient's rectum.

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

nervous system

High air temperature reduces the body's ability to lose heat by:

radiation

Burns associated with lightning strikes are typically:

superficial

the two most efficient ways for the body to eliminate excess heat are

sweating and vasodilation

An air embolism associated with diving occurs when:

the diver holds his or her breath during a rapid ascent.