Chapter 12- Primary Assessment

During the primary assessment of an unresponsive​ two-month old​ infant, which pulse should be​ palpated?

Brachial

You assess a​ patient's breathing rate and see signs of hypoxia and respiratory​ distress, so you provide the patient with oxygen. You do this during which phase of the primary​ assessment?

Breathing

Which of the following statements is TRUE about the primary​ assessment?

Critical conditions that are identified during the primary assessment must be treated immediately as found.

Which of the following is completed first during the primary​ assessment?

Forming a general impression

What BEST defines the immediate sense of the​ patient's degree of​ distress, formulated from the​ patient's immediate​ environment, appearance, and chief​ complaint?

General impression

You are caring for a patient that looks at you as you approach. Which of the following represents the typical order of assessment for the EMT during the primary assessment from start to​ end?

General​ impression, mental​ status, airway,​ breathing, circulation, patient priority

Which of the following is TRUE regarding a patient who has a mental status of less than​ "alert"?

His brain may not be getting enough oxygen.

In which of the following patients would you check a brachial pulse​ initially?

Infant

What is a normal capillary refill time in a pediatric​ patient?

Less than 2 seconds

Which condition would be a critical concern during primary​ assessment?

Major arterial bleeding

You determine that a​ patient's airway is endangered and initiate the airway phase of the primary assessment. Which of the following would you NOT do during this​ phase?

Obtain the respiratory rate

Your patient is a​ 33-year-old man who has been ejected from his vehicle during a​ high-speed collision. During your primary​ assessment, you discover that he is not​ moving, does not appear to have adequate​ respirations, and has suffered moderate external bleeding. Which of the following should be done​ first?

Open the airway.

You have arrived on the scene at a high school football field where a​ 17-year-old male is lying on the ground. He is unresponsive and​ cyanotic, and he is making obvious respiratory effort without moving adequate amounts of air. Which of the following should be done​ first?

Open the​ patient's airway using a manual maneuver.

You are at the scene where a​ 19-year-old female college student has been drinking large quantities of alcohol throughout the evening. On your​ arrival, the patient is lying on her back with no signs of​ trauma, has​ vomited, and has​ slow, wet-sounding respirations. Which of the following should you do​ next?

Open the​ patient's airway using a​ head-tilt, chin-lift maneuver.

For which would you suspect an airway intervention is MOST likely to be​ necessary?

Patient with obvious head trauma

Which of the following is the proper position for maintaining the airway in a child with a decreased level of​ consciousness?

Placing the head and neck in a neutral position

If a patient is alert and breathing adequately but exhibits cyanotic​ skin, then which intervention is MOST​ appropriate?

Provide oxygen based on the​ patient's need as determined by your​ examination, the​ patient's complaint and level of​ distress, and the pulse oximetry readings.

Which of the following presentations would be considered normal during the breathing phase of the primary​ assessment?

Respiratory rate of 12 with adequate depth

How would you assess the mental status of an infant who appears​ unresponsive?

Speak as a verbal stimulus and flick the feet as a painful stimulus.

Which of the following is the most reliable means of determining whether a patient has any immediately​ life-threatening conditions?

Systematic approach to assessment

In the primary​ assessment, which of the following is NOT an acceptable method of assessing the​ patient's circulatory​ status?

Taking a blood pressure reading

In​ EMS, which of the following BEST describes the term​ intervention?

Taking steps to correct a problem

Which of the following situations shows the mnemonic AVPU in​ action?

The EMT determines that the patient is awake and can answer questions correctly.

Which of the following differences should be expected when assessing a pediatric​ patient, as compared to the adult​ patient?

The normal respiratory rate is faster.

Which of the following is a good indication of an occluded​ airway?

The patient has snoring respirations.

A​ 13-year-old male has crashed an ATV. He was not wearing a helmet and was found unconscious. His airway is patent and is breathing​ adequately, but you hear rales in his chest and diminished lung sounds in his right chest. You assess this​ patient's priority for transport as high. What is one​ reason?

The patient is unconscious.

During your assessment of a patient who is suspected of having had a​ stroke, you have to pinch his nail beds for him to respond. Which of the following would best categorize this​ patient's mental​ status?

The patient responds to painful stimuli.

Which of the following is true concerning the primary​ assessment?

The primary assessment begins as soon as the EMT can observe the patient.

Which of the following is the purpose of the primary​ assessment?

To detect and treat immediately​ life-threatening problems

Your patient is a​ 42-year-old woman who fell two feet from a ladder and is complaining of pain in her ankle. Which of the following are you unable to determine from the information​ given?

Transport priority

Which of the following questions will MOST likely elicit your​ patient's chief​ complaint?

What made you call 911 this​ evening?

A patient whose mental status can be described as verbal​ is:

a patient that responds to speaking or shouting by opening the eyes.

A sign of lifelessness that would indicate going directly to a pulse check and the​ C-A-B approach​ is:

agonal breathing

The​ "A" in ABCs​ is:

airway.

At a glance when developing your general impression of a​ patient, you can see that a patient​ is:

apparently lifeless.

A​ 40-year-old male has crashed his motorcycle. Your general impression identifies that he is unconscious and that he has spurting blood pouring out of the junction between his leg and his groin. You also hear gurgling respirations. You should​ FIRST:

apply direct pressure to the bleeding wound.

You are approaching a young adult male lying supine on the ground with his eyes closed. You should​ FIRST:

ask him if he is okay.

A​ 66-year-old female has been found apneic and pulseless. You should​ immediately:

begin chest compressions.

As you interview a patient with a medical​ complaint, the reason why the ambulance was called is often referred to as​ the:

chief complaint.

You are approaching a​ 16-year-old male with bright red spurting blood coming from his leg. He is​ screaming, and he begs you to help him. You should​ FIRST:

control the bleeding.

The expected response of an infant to a verbal stimulus involving a shout or the painful stimulus of flicking the​ infant's feet​ is:

crying.

You are called to a scene of a fall and find the patient unconscious with a twisted leg. A general impression of this patient would​ be:

deciding that the​ patient's fall was severe and injured the​ patient's leg.

During the primary​ assessment, an example of a life threat to circulation that must be managed right away would​ be:

external arterial bleeding.

A​ 45-year-old female is found unconscious. She is not breathing but has a pulse. You should​ NEXT:

initiate positive pressure ventilations.

The primary​ assessment:

is the first step in the total assessment of a patient.

During the primary​ assessment, you would focus exclusively​ on:

life threats.

You find a​ middle-aged unresponsive man lying prone on the ground near a ladder. You should​ FIRST:

manually immobilize his head and neck.

Your partner is assessing a​ 55-year-old man who was found sitting on the tailgate of his truck after being involved in a motor vehicle collision. You should​ FIRST:

manually immobilize the cervical spine.

You are approaching an adult female lying supine on the ground with snoring respirations. You should​ FIRST:

open her airway with a​ jaw-thrust maneuver.

Which of the following phases of patient interaction is MOST likely the phase in which the EMT will discover and deal with​ life-threatening problems?

primary assessment

You enter a room to find a​ 16-year-old female sitting upright in a chair with her back​ straight, leaning​ forward, and her arms supporting her. She is having a hard time talking to you. You should​ suspect:

respiratory distress.

A​ patient's level of responsiveness is that​ patient's mental:

status.

During your primary​ assessment, you note blood in the​ patient's mouth and hear gurgling. You should​ NEXT:

suction the airway and clear any secretions.

You find a teenage male lying supine in his bedroom. You hear gurgling sounds from the​ patient's mouth and see vomit with pill fragments on the floor. You should​ FIRST:

suction the airway.

A​ 56-year-old male has fallen off a​ 12-foot ladder. After ensuring scene safety and completing the scene​ size-up, you should​ NEXT:

take manual cervical spine precautions.

A​ patient's chief complaint​ is:

the reason EMS was summoned.

A​ 25-year-old male was shot in the leg. He has visibly lost a lot of​ blood, and when assessing this​ patient's circulation, you determine that this patient has​ life-threatening bleeding. You should control the bleeding​ and:

treat for shock.

A​ 58-year-old male crashed his vehicle at high speed. He was not wearing his seatbelt and has a deep laceration on his forehead and neck pain. It is not clear whether there was a period of unconsciousness before your arrival on the scene. You decide that because of the potential for loss of consciousness from a head injury and the significant​ MOI, this patient is a high priority and should go to the trauma center. This decision reflects your clinical​ judgment, which is based​ on:

your experience in observing and treating patients.

Which of the following would be the BEST method to open the airway on an unresponsive trauma​ patient?

​Jaw-thrust maneuver

Which of the following findings is generally NOT used to assess an​ adult's circulation?

​Patient's capillary refill time

For which of the following patients would capillary refill be a reliable sign of circulatory​ status?

3-year-old child with a fever and cough

Which of the following acronyms may be used in assessing the​ patient's level of​ consciousness?

AVPU

Which of the following patients is a high priority for​ transport?

Adult male with difficulty breathing

An EMT develops a suspicion that a patient is in shock while developing a general impression of the patient. What signs has the EMT likely​ seen?

Anxiety, pallor, sweatiness

Your patient is a​ 72-year-old female who has​ "twisted her​ ankle" coming down some steps. She is alert and complaining of pain in her right​ ankle, but she jokes about her​ "clumsiness." Which of the following should you do​ next?

Ask if the patient has pain anywhere besides her ankle.

During the primary assessment of a responsive adult​ patient, where should the pulse be​ checked?

At the radial artery