Terrorism

Infection with the Ebola virus is characterized by:

internal and external hemorrhage.

Requesting a hazardous materials team as early as possible to a scene involving a weapon of mass destruction is MOST important because:

it takes time for the hazardous materials team to assemble their personnel and equipment.

Gray discoloration of the skin is a sign of permanent damage seen following exposure to:

lewisite and phosgene oxime.

Anthrax is a bacterium that:

lies dormant in a spore and is released when exposed to the optimal temperature and moisture.

A young man presents with severe respiratory distress. He is conscious, but confused, and smells of freshly cut grass. Auscultation of his breath sounds reveals coarse crackles in all lung fields, and he is coughing up copious secretions. This patient's clinical presentation is MOST consistent with exposure to:

phosgene

The hazardous materials team has deemed it safe for you to enter and remove patients from an office building that exploded. As you are moving the patients, it is MOST important to:

remain alert to the possibility of a secondary explosive device.

Over the course of your 24-hour shift, you and your partner responded to seven calls involving patients with signs and symptoms of the flu. To the best of your knowledge, your area is not in the midst of a flu outbreak. You should:

report these calls to your supervisor or local health department.

Unlike G-series agents, VX is:

so persistent that, given the proper conditions, it will remain relatively unchanged for weeks to months.

You and your partner arrive at the scene of a building explosion. As you stage your ambulance, you can see that members of the FBI are present. You also see numerous victims lying on the ground outside the building. You should:

stay where you are until you receive instructions from the staging officer.

Signs and symptoms of significant cyanide exposure include:

tachypnea

The seizures associated with nerve agent exposure:

will continue until a MARK 1 antidote is administered.

When the National Terrorism Advisory System alerts responders to the potential for a terrorist attack:

you should take appropriate precautions while continuing to perform daily duties and responding to EMS calls.

Which of the following chemical agents has the smell of freshly cut grass?

Phosgene

What do tabun, sarin, soman, and V agent all have in common?

The onset of symptoms following exposure is immediate.

A 39-year-old man presents with severe abdominal cramping accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. During your assessment, the patient tells you that in an attempt to kill himself, he intentionally ingested some castor beans because he heard they were poisonous. The patient's blood pressure is 96/58 mm Hg, heart rate is 112 beats/min, and respirations are 24 breaths/min. Which of the following statements regarding this scenario is correct?

Your patient has ingested the key ingredient for ricin and is at high risk for vascular collapse and death.

A 21-year-old woman presents with a severe headache, body aches, and a fever of 102.8°F. She tells you that she returned from a humanitarian aid mission overseas a week and a half ago and began feeling ill yesterday morning. Given this patient's travel history and clinical presentation, you should expect her to develop:

a rash and blisters on her face.

A terrorist would MOST likely disseminate smallpox via:

aerosolization

A suicide bomber typically uses a(n) _______________ to achieve his or her objective.

incendiary weapon

You are dispatched to a residence for a 50-year-old woman with respiratory distress. While you are assessing the patient, she tells you that she began experiencing flulike symptoms 4 days ago, shortly after delivering mail on the rural mail route for which she is responsible. Due to her illness, she has been unable to return to work. Her blood pressure is 90/50 mm Hg, pulse rate is 120 beats/min, and respirations are 26 breaths/min and labored. Auscultation of her breath sounds reveals the presence of coarse crackles. This patient has MOST likely been exposed to:

anthrax

In contrast to the lesions associated with other skin disorders, the lesions associated with smallpox:

are identical in size and shape.

You are caring for a 40-year-old man who was exposed to an unknown chemical and has been appropriately decontaminated by the hazardous materials team. The patient responds to pain only, is incontinent of urine and feces, and has a heart rate of 40 beats/min and weak. Further assessment reveals that his breathing effort is poor and his blood pressure is low. After taking standard precautions, the MOST appropriate treatment for this patient involves:

assisting his ventilations with a bag-mask device and 100% oxygen, performing intubation if necessary, establishing vascular access, applying the cardiac monitor, and administering atropine and pralidoxime.

MARK 1 and DuoDote antidote kits contain:

atropine and pralidoxime chloride.

Smallpox is in its MOST contagious phase when:

blisters begin to form

Vesicant agents inflict injury by causing:

burn-like blisters to form on the skin and in the respiratory tract.

In contrast to volatile chemical agents, nonvolatile chemical agents:

can remain on surfaces for long periods of time, usually longer than 24 hours.

In contrast to sulfur mustard, lewisite and phosgene oxime exposures:

cause a rapid onset of signs and symptoms.

Nerve agents block _______________, an essential enzyme of the nervous system.

cholinesterase

While at the scene of an incident in which several patients were possibly exposed to lewisite, you are informed that an unresponsive patient with multiple blisters on his body and inadequate breathing is being brought to you for treatment. You should:

ensure that the patient has been decontaminated before initiating any treatment.

You are at the scene of an explosion at an office complex. There are a total of 15 casualties, including 2 deaths. In addition to injuries experienced by the explosion, most of the victims are complaining of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. When caring for any of these victims, you must:

ensure that they have been properly decontaminated first.

Mild effects of cyanide exposure:

generally resolve by simply removing the victim from the environment and administering oxygen.