22 Toxicology Quiz

Delirium tremens (DTs) is a syndrome associated with withdrawal from:

alcohol

Your priority in caring for a patient with a surface contact poisoning is to:

avoid contaminating yourself.

Which of the following drugs is not a sedative-hypnotic?

oxycodone (Percocet)

Before giving activated charcoal, you should:

obtain approval from medical control.

EMTs are dispatched for a teenage male who is "not acting right." When they arrive, they are informed that the patient was huffing. Several cans of Freon are found near the patient. Which of the following is a unique consideration for this patient?

A sudden adrenaline release can cause a fatal dysrhythmia.

Which of the following sets of vital signs would the EMT most likely encounter in a patient with acute cocaine overdose?

BP, 200/100 mm Hg; pulse, 150 beats/min

Your paramedic partner administers atropine to a 49-year-old male with bradycardia. Which of the following side effects would you expect the patient to experience?

Dry mucous membranes

During your assessment of a 50-year-old male who was found unresponsive in an alley, you note that he has slow, shallow respirations; bradycardia; facial cyanosis; and pinpoint pupils. As your partner begins assisting the patient's ventilations, he directs your attention to the patient's arms, which have multiple needle tracks on them. Which of the following would most likely explain the patient's presentation?

Heroin overdose

Which of the following questions would be least pertinent during the initial questioning of a patient who ingested a substance?

Why was the substance ingested?

It is most important to determine a patient's weight when asking questions pertaining to a toxic ingestion because:

activated charcoal is given based on a patient's weight.

A 4-year-old, 15-kg male ingested an unknown quantity of acetaminophen (Tylenol). The child's mother states that she does not know when the ingestion occurred. The child is conscious and alert and in no apparent distress. The EMT should:

administer 15 g of activated charcoal.

A patient who presents with rapid breathing, nausea and vomiting, ringing in the ears, and hyperthermia should be suspected of ingesting a significant quantity of:

aspirin

Activated charcoal may be indicated for a patient who ingested:

aspirin.

You and your paramedic partner are caring for a patient who ingested codeine, acetaminophen (Tylenol), and hydrocodone (Vicodin). The patient is unresponsive, his breathing is slow and shallow, and his pulse is slow and weak. Treatment for this patient should include:

assisted ventilation and naloxone (Narcan).

You respond to a college campus for a young male who is acting strangely. After law enforcement has secured the scene, you enter the patient's dorm room and find him sitting on the edge of the bed; he appears agitated. As you approach him, you note that he has dried blood around both nostrils. He is breathing adequately, his pulse is rapid and irregular, and his blood pressure is 200/110 mm Hg. Treatment for this patient includes:

attempting to calm him and giving him oxygen if tolerated.

After administering activated charcoal to a patient, it is most important to:

be alert for vomiting.

Activated charcoal is given to patients who have ingested certain substances because it:

binds to the substance and prevents absorption.

A construction worker complains of intense pain after a bag of dry powder was spilled on his arm. The EMT should:

brush the chemical from his arm and then flush the skin with water.

A 3-year-old female ingested several leaves from a plant in the living room. The child's mother is not sure what type of plant it is, stating that she bought it simply because it was pretty. After completing your primary assessment of the child, you should:

contact the regional poison control center.

A 49-year-old male presents with confusion, sweating, and visual hallucinations. The patient's wife tells you that he is a heavy drinker and that he might have had a seizure shortly before your arrival. This patient is most likely experiencing:

delirium tremens.

Naloxone (Narcan) would reverse the effects of:

hydromorphone (Dilaudid).

Most poisonings occur via the __________ route.

ingestion

A 25-year-old man overdosed on heroin and is unresponsive. His breathing is slow and shallow and he is bradycardic. He has track marks on both arms. The EMT should:

insert a nasal airway and ventilate with a bag-mask device.

When caring for a known alcoholic patient with severe trauma to the chest and abdomen, you should be concerned that:

internal bleeding might be profuse because prolonged alcohol use might impair the blood's ability to clot.

The poison control center will provide you with the most information regarding the appropriate treatment for a patient with a drug overdose if the center:

is aware of the substance that is involved.

An overdose of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, will most likely cause:

liver damage and failure.

Your unit is dispatched to the county jail for an intoxicated inmate. Upon arrival, you find the patient, a 33-year-old male, lying supine in a jail cell. He is responsive to painful stimuli only and has slow, shallow respirations. You should be most concerned that this patient:

might vomit and aspirate.

Atropine sulfate and pralidoxime chloride are antidotes for:

nerve gas agents.

Heroin is an example of a(n):

opioid.

Hypotension, hypoventilation, and pinpoint pupils would be expected following an overdose of:

oxycodone (Percocet).

Airborne substances should be diluted with:

oxygen

An EMT's primary responsibility to the patient who has been poisoned is to:

recognize that a poisoning occurred.

A man with a prolonged history of alcohol abuse fell from a second-story balcony. His blood pressure is 80/60 mm Hg, his heart rate is 120 beats/min, and his skin is cool and pale. When caring for this patient, the EMT should recall that:

reduced blood clotting worsens internal bleeding.

In an apparent suicide attempt, a 19-year-old female ingested a full bottle of amitriptyline (Elavil). At present, she is conscious and alert and states that she swallowed the pills approximately 30 minutes earlier. Her blood pressure is 90/50 mm Hg, her pulse is 140 beats/min and irregular, and her respirations are 22 breaths/min with adequate depth. When transporting this patient, you should be most alert for:

seizures and cardiac dysrhythmias.

Signs of absorbed poison exposure include all of the following, except:

severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Signs and symptoms of a sympathomimetic drug overdose include:

tachycardia

You are dispatched to a local nursery for a 39-year-old female who is sick. When you arrive, you find the patient lying on the floor. She is semiconscious, has copious amounts of saliva coming from her mouth, and is incontinent of urine. You quickly feel her pulse and note that it is very slow. Immediate management for this patient should include:

thoroughly suctioning her oropharynx.

A person who routinely misuses a substance and requires increasing amounts to achieve the same effect is experiencing:

tolerance

If you are uncertain how to treat a patient who has been poisoned or exposed to a specific substance, you should:

try to find the container the substance was in.

You receive a call to a residence where a man found his wife unresponsive on the couch. The patient's respiratory rate is 8 breaths/min, her breathing is shallow, her heart rate is 40 beats/min, and her pulse is weak. The husband hands you an empty bottle of hydrocodone (Vicodin), which was refilled the day before. You should:

ventilate her with a bag-mask device.