EMT #5 Moodle Quizzes
Which statement made by your new EMT partner best describes the way to determine the severity of a patient's blood loss?
"I use the patient's signs and symptoms to judge the severity of the blood loss."
A 2-year-old boy fell down a flight of stairs, is crying loudly, and is very difficult to communicate with. Because you are unable to clear the spine, you elect to initiate spine motion restriction precautions. Which instruction would you provide to other EMTs who are initiating this care for the patient?
"Let's place a folded towel under his shoulders and back to help maintain head alignment."
Which statement about traction splints is true?
"Mechanical traction should be applied until the mechanical traction is equal to the manual traction and the patient experiences a reduction in pain."
Two cars have collided head-on. One car was traveling at a speed of 55 mph and the other at 35 mph. The total speed of impact would be:
90 mph
Which patient has an isolated brain injury that should be considered the most serious?
A 21-year-old male wearing a deformed motorcycle helmet who does not respond to verbal or painful stimuli after crashing
An elderly female patient fell and now complains of right hip and right knee pain. When assessing her, which finding would you find most concerning?
Absent pedal pulse
A 9-year-old boy has fallen from a swing. Assessment findings reveal no threats to the airway, breathing, or circulation, but do indicate deformity, pain, and swelling to his right wrist. The right radial pulse is strong and is accompanied by skin that is pink and warm to the touch. Which action indicates that the EMT is properly caring for this patient?
Applying cold packs to the wrist to reduce swelling
As you approach a young male lying on the sidewalk who was called into 911 as an "unresponsive male," you observe an area of dark blood on his pants. He appears lethargic, pale, and diaphoretic. Your first action in caring for this patient would be to:
Assess the airway
A young female was involved in an altercation and stabbed in the abdomen with an ice pick. After being stabbed, she quickly removed the ice pick. She states that there was not much bleeding but does say it "stings" quite a bit. Assessment reveals a small puncture wound to the lower right quadrant with some dried blood around the site. Which best describes the primary focus of the EMT in caring for this patient?
Assessing for internal blood loss or shock
A 24-year-old female was an unrestrained driver of a car that struck a guardrail, causing her to sustain blunt trauma to the chest and abdomen. Vital signs obtained by Emergency Medical Responders are pulse 120 beats/min, respirations 22 breaths/min, blood pressure 100/78 mmHg, and SpO2 96%. As you transport her to the hospital, which finding indicates that the patient is deteriorating?
Blood pressure 86/50 mmHg
Of the actions described, which indicates proper care of a patient who has experienced a partial-thickness burn to the hand?
Carefully remove rings prior to applying a dry sterile dressing
A bullet fired from a gun at close range passes through the patient's liver. However, on autopsy, the coroner discovers that the man's pancreas, stomach, and gallbladder were also injured, even though not in direct contact with the bullet. As a knowledgeable EMT, you would recognize that which mechanism is responsible for injuries to these additional organs?
Cavitation
While performing the primary assessment on a patient with an isolated spinal cord injury, you note that he is in severe respiratory distress and struggling to breathe. Where should you suspect the spinal cord injury has occurred?
Cervical spine
An alert and oriented 22-year-old male fell off a tractor and now complains of pain to his right leg. As you quickly scan the patient, you note deformity to the tibia-fibula area of the lower extremity. After conducting the primary assessment and manually stabilizing the leg, which action should the EMT take?
Check for a pedal pulse
Which statement concerning a flash burn is accurate?
Clothing will typically protect the skin from a flash burn
A young intoxicated male patient cannot move his left arm and leg after diving into the shallow end of a pool and hitting the bottom head first. The EMT would recognize which mechanism as most likely responsible for this injury?
Compression
A male soccer player was struck in the head with a soccer ball. Players state that he was dazed for several seconds following the impact and then asked the same questions over and over. Presently, he is conscious and oriented to person, but confused about place and time. He also has a reddened area to the side of his head and face. As you proceed with your assessment, his memory continues to improve. Based on these findings, the EMT should suspect which type of injury?
Concussion
A young adult male is in police custody after he crashed his car into a utility pole. There is minor front-end damage to the vehicle, and the air bags deployed. The patient was not wearing a seat belt and has an abrasion to his forehead. He is awake and oriented to person, time, and place. His speech is slurred and he has an odor resembling that of beer on his breath. The arresting officer states that he just wants you to check the patient before he transports him to jail. Given this scenario, which action seems most appropriate for the EMT to take?
Contact medical direction with assessment findings
The cerebellum is described as the area of the brain that:
Controls reflexes and assists in maintaining body posture
An intoxicated 28-year-old female has suffered burns to both legs after passing out next to a space heater, which ignited her pants. Emergency Medical Responders have removed her clothing and cooled the burns. Which action is most appropriate in the continued care of this patient?
Cover the burns with a clean, white, dry sheet
You are responding to a call for a 4-year-old child hit by a car. When assessing this child, which injury patterns would you recognize as typical based on the child's age and mechanism of injury?
Deformed femurs, bruises to the chest and abdomen, and head injury
Which assessment finding, in a 32-year-old female involved in a motor vehicle collision, should the EMT recognize as potentially life threatening?
Deformity of the left femur
When classifying a burn as either superficial, partial thickness, or full thickness, the EMT would need to determine the:
Depth of the burn
A young female wears her lap belt too low, over her upper thighs, because the belt is uncomfortable when worn properly. If she is involved in a head-on "up and over" type of collision, to which injury is she most prone, given the position of her lap belt?
Dislocated hips
When providing prehospital care to a female patient with a soft-tissue injury, which statement is true?
Hands should be washed even if gloves were worn during care
When it is necessary to secure a patient to a long spine board during a spine motion restriction process, which of these regions is typically secured last to the spine board?
Head and neck region
A young male patient was running through a park shortly before dawn and struck his head on a low-hanging branch of a tree. Emergency Medical Responders have already provided spine motion restriction precautions and are providing supplemental oxygen since the patient was initially unresponsive. During transport, which finding obtained during your reassessment would best indicate that the patient has experienced a concussion?
Improving memory
The rapid secondary assessment of a male patient who was thrown off a motorcycle indicates instability and pain on palpation to the pelvic area. What is the EMT's primary concern related to this injury?
Internal blood loss
Which statement is true regarding linear skull fractures?
Linear skull fractures cannot typically be identified with palpation
A patient was ejected from a car when it overturned at a high rate of speed. The patient is unresponsive. The primary assessment is complete and you are providing positive pressure ventilation with supplemental oxygen. The patient has a significant deformity to the right side of his head, and both pupils are equal but slow to react to light. The patient also has deformity to the forearms. Vital signs are pulse, 144 beats/min; respirations, 24 breaths/min and inadequate; blood pressure, 90/50 mmHg; and SpO2, 97%. Based on this presentation, the EMT should:
Look for evidence of bleeding in an area of the body other than the brain
Which of the statements concerning trauma is most accurate?
Multisystem trauma has a higher mortality rate than single-system injuries
The secondary assessment of a patient who complains of right leg pain after falling down several stairs reveals a break in the skin where a fractured tibia bone broke through and then recessed back into the leg. The EMT should recognize this as which type of injury?
Open fracture
You believe that a patient who has been shot in the lower abdomen is bleeding internally and is in an early stage of shock. The patient's mental status is decreasing. What would be appropriate prehospital care of this patient?
Oxygen therapy and rapid transport to the hospital
A 21-year-old male sustained a severe burn to his left leg while working on an industrial furnace. Coworkers immediately doused his flaming pants and removed them. Your primary assessment reveals no threats to the airway, breathing, or circulation. While performing the secondary assessment on his leg, which finding would be most critical?
Partial-thickness burn completely encircling the lower leg
A 48-year-old male is in shock from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision. Which assessment finding(s) is (are) most suggestive that the patient may have internal bleeding?
Pelvic instability with a BP of 78/48 mmHg
A female patient has been involved in a motorcycle crash. Your scene size-up reveals her to be unresponsive and lying in the roadway. It also appears that her left leg has been amputated at the knee. What should the EMT do immediately?
Perform a jaw-thrust maneuver
While cleaning a gun, a 44-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the abdomen. On your arrival at the scene, the patient is responsive to painful stimuli and lying on his side, with his legs drawn to his chest. Blood is evident on his shirt and pants. The vital signs are minimally acceptable and the pulse oximeter reading is 94%. What is the correct sequence of events when caring for this patient?
Perform the primary assessment, administer supplemental oxygen, perform the secondary assessment, transfer the patient to the stretcher, and provide rapid transport
Firefighters have just pulled a young woman from a house fire and have laid her on the lawn. The patient is conscious, oriented, and badly burned on the chest, abdomen, and legs. Her clothes are still smoldering. Which action should the EMT take immediately?
Pour water on the smoldering clothes
Which statement best describes the technique to be used when hyperventilating a patient with a head injury who shows signs of brain herniation?
Provide 1 ventilation every 3 seconds
A patient has been pulled from a house fire. Assessment reveals him to be lethargic with stridorous respirations, minimal chest wall motion, and a rapid but strong radial pulse. Firefighters are dousing his body with water to cool him and ensure he is extinguished. Which action would the EMT perform immediately once the fire on the patient is adequately extinguished with water?
Provide positive pressure ventilation with a bag-valve mask
Assessment of a young girl who was hit by a car while riding her bike reveals her to be responsive to painful stimuli with flexion of the extremities; she is also in respiratory distress. There is marked deformity to her thoracic spine and bruising noted to her anterior chest and abdomen. She does not move her legs when a noxious stimulus is applied to the lower extremities. Manual cervical spine motion restriction is being maintained and a cervical collar has been applied by fire department EMRs. Given the critical nature of this patient, which action is most appropriate for her care?
Quickly but carefully provide full spine motion restriction precautions on scene prior to rapid transport to the hospital
Why would an EMT be concerned about a partial-thickness burn circumferentially to the chest?
Restriction of breathing
A patient, who was constructing a bomb in his basement, has sustained a secondary-phase blast injury. Which presentation would the EMT most likely observe from this blast phase?
Screwdriver impaled in the thorax
A patient has been critically hurt in a nighttime motor vehicle collision. She was wearing a seat belt and hit a tree at 70 mph. The car she was driving weighed 2 tons and was equipped with air bags that did deploy. Which factor had the greatest impact on the injuries she sustained?
Speed of the vehicle at impact
You arrive on the scene to help another crew with the extrication from an attic of a female who fell while retrieving holiday decorations. As a result of the fall, the patient has an open fracture to her left lower leg. The patient has been fully immobilized to a long board and has a rigid splint in place to her left leg. What would indicate the extremity has been improperly splinted?
The patient is able to flex her left ankle when directed to do so
What forms the physical barrier against the entrance of undesirable microorganisms, found in the environment, into the body?
The skin
A 24-year-old male has cut his arm with a table saw. Assessment reveals dark red blood flowing steadily from the laceration. As an EMT, you would identify this bleeding as:
Venous
A 44-year-old electrician has been shocked. He now responds to verbal stimuli with garbled speech. His airway is open and he is breathing poorly at a rate of 8 times per minute. His pulse is slow and irregular. Which action would the EMT perform next?
Ventilate with a bag-valve mask at 10 breaths/min
Which statement regarding voluntary muscles is true?
Voluntary muscles generally connect to the bones of the skeletal system
A patient has had part of his right thumb amputated in an industrial accident. Coworkers have retrieved the thumb and wrapped it in a towel. The EMT demonstrates appropriate handling of the amputated part when he:
Wraps it in a dry sterile dressing
A patient with a closed fracture to the forearm has been properly splinted when which other structures are properly immobilized?
Wrist and elbow
A female patient with a maxillary fracture has sustained injury to her:
Upper jaw
You have arrived on the scene of a large structure fire. Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs) are by the side of a patient who is responsive to verbal stimuli and has significant burns to his body. They report that the patient fell down a flight of stairs while trying to escape and was trapped for several minutes. Their assessment findings include partial- and full-thickness burns to his right arm, right leg, and right side of the face. The EMRs also report that the patient's unburned skin is cool, clammy, and pale, with a delayed capillary refill. His pulse is 144 beats/min, respirations are 22 breaths/min, and blood pressure is 88/50 mmHg. Which instructions would be most appropriate?
"After reassessing the ABCs, let's do a secondary assessment and look for signs of injuries that are causing shock."
You have arrived on the scene of an industrial plant where a female worker had a chemical splashed into her eye. She now complains of severe pain in the eye and is flushing it with tap water over a sink. Which question is it most important that the EMT ask first?
"Are you wearing contact lenses?"
Which question is best asked when attempting to determine the degree of sensation in the hand of a patient who has an elbow injury?
"Can you tell me which finger I am touching?"
During an in-service program focusing on care of the trauma patient, the medical director asks if anyone can correctly describe the "platinum 10 minutes." What statement by a participant is the best response?
"EMS should initiate transport of the critically injured trauma patient to the hospital within 10 minutes of arriving on scene."
A patient is lying under a tree after being involved in a motor vehicle collision. She states that immediately after the crash, she felt okay, but now her legs are numb and tingling. She also has lower back discomfort. Which question is it most important for the EMT to ask next?
"How did you get out of the car?"
A patient has been stabbed with a knife at the fifth intercostal space on the right side of the chest in an attempted suicide. Assessment reveals him to be short of breath and coughing. Which question is it most important for the EMT to ask regarding the weapon?
"How long was the knife blade?"
A vacuum splint has just been applied to the injured arm of a patient who fell backward from a chair while hanging drapes. Which statement or question should the EMT make or ask next after placing the splint?
"I am going to feel your wrist for a pulse now."
You suspect that a patient has a fracture of the left orbit. Which statement made by the patient would reinforce this suspicion?
"I am seeing two of everything."
A construction worker complains of pain to both eyes after an extended period spent welding on a gas well. The light is bothering him, and he rates the pain as a 10/10. He states that this problem occurred once before and was caused by the intense light of his welding tool. The primary assessment reveals no deficits. The patient's vital signs are pulse, 80 beats/min; respirations, 14 breaths/min; blood pressure, 132/68 mmHg; and SpO2, 98%. Although the injury is very painful, his vision is not compromised. Which set of instructions indicates proper care of this patient?
"I do not think that we will need to provide supplemental oxygen."
A 21-year-old male has a stab wound to the left side of his neck. Emergency Medical Responders are holding manual spine motion restriction. As you approach the patient, you note blood on his shirt and pale-looking skin color. As team leader, which direction would you give first?
"I need someone to place a gloved hand over that stab wound."
A male patient in his thirties fell 10 feet off a loading dock, landing on his head and back. He has deformity and depression to the back of his head and is unresponsive with snoring respirations. Vital signs are pulse, 132 beats/min; respirations, agonal; blood pressure, 136/64 mmHg, and SpO2, 89%. The patient responds to painful stimuli with purposeful motion. Which instruction would you provide other caregivers at the scene?
"I need someone to start positive pressure ventilation at 12 breaths per minute."
Which response shows that the EMT is correctly assessing motor function in the arms of a patient with a potential spine injury?
"I need you to flex both arms across your chest."
You are having a difficult time controlling bleeding from a small skin avulsion on a patient's ankle. Which statement made by the patient best explains why control has been difficult to achieve?
"I take Coumadin for my irregular heartbeat."
Which statement shows that the EMT understands the palm method of estimating the BSA burned?
"I use the patient's palm to estimate the size of the burn area."
Which statement about compartment syndrome is true?
"It describes swelling in the tissues that can result in the loss of an extremity."
A male patient was injured when a steam valve opened, causing hot steam to contact his face. Which statement made by the patient would be of most concern to the EMT and require immediate assessment or treatment?
"It is sort of hard to breathe."
A 24-year-old man was shocked while working on his house's electrical system. Assessment reveals a minor burn to the fingers on his left hand. Aside from being slightly shaky, the patient states he feels fine and does not see the need to be treated further or transported to the hospital. Which statement would you make before allowing him to refuse additional care and transport?
"It would be best to let the emergency physician check you out. Electrical shocks can damage the heart or other internal structures."
Which of the instructions from one EMT to another shows the correct application of a cervical collar?
"Keep his head in neutral position while I apply the cervical collar."
You pull up to the scene of a single-car motor vehicle collision. Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs) are maintaining inline manual cervical spine motion restriction of the 56-year-old driver, who was unrestrained when she struck a tree at a high rate of speed. As you approach the vehicle, you note that the patient appears unresponsive, with blood coming from her nose and ears. Which instruction to the EMRs is most appropriate?
"Let me conduct the primary assessment and place a cervical collar on the patient, and then we can start to get her out of this car."
Which instruction would you provide to your team immediately after securing a patient with head, neck, and back pain to the long backboard with appropriate spine motion restriction equipment?
"Let's check for extremity PMS before we move the patient to the stretcher."
While riding a bike, a young boy fell onto a stick protruding from the ground. The stick impaled him in the neck. The boy immediately pulled the stick out and ran home, where his mother called 911. Assessment reveals a gaping wound to the right neck. All hemorrhage has clotted off and manual cervical spine motion restriction is being maintained. Which instructions should you provide to the other EMTs on scene?
"Place an occlusive dressing over the wound and tape it on all four sides."
While running in a parking lot, a young boy tripped and fell. He hit his face and mouth on a curb, knocking one of his top front teeth from its socket. Bleeding has been controlled and the tooth found. Which instructions would you give your partner when caring for the tooth?
"Rinse the tooth first, then put it in a cup of saline for transport."
Which statement made by an EMT indicates an understanding of facial anatomy and/or injuries?
"The only movable bone making up the face is the mandible."
Which instructions would you provide to the Emergency Medical Responders when treating a patient who was punched in the eye and has blood visible in the anterior chamber?
"We will need to cover both eyes with patches before we transport the patient."
A 19-year-old female was assaulted by her intoxicated boyfriend. After punching her in the chest, he slashed her face with a knife. Assessment reveals the patient to be stable with a large laceration from beneath her right eye to her right ear. She is very upset and crying and repeatedly asks you if this injury will leave a permanent scar on her face. Your best response would be:
"When we get to the hospital, you can discuss this more thoroughly with the doctor."
When triaging multiple burn patients, the EMT would recognize which patient as having the most critical burn?
A 22-year-old patient with a partial-thickness burn to the right hand
For which patient would the palm method be best to estimate the body surface area affected by a burn?
A 49-year-old patient with a partial-thickness burn to the inner thigh
Based on the structure of the nervous system, which statement is true?
A deep laceration to the arm can sever peripheral nerves
What is the best description of a topical hemostatic agent?
A dressing that is specifically designed to stop bleeding
Which type of injury is most likely to result in capillary bleeding only?
Abrasion
A male patient who works in a steel fabricating plant has suffered a flash burn to his right arm and hand. Which assessment finding would assist the EMT in determining that the burn is superficial and not partial thickness?
Absence of blisters
A patient has been splashed in the face with battery acid. He now complains of being unable to see anything and of severe burning to his face. You observe that he is holding both eyes tightly shut and has significant burns on his cheeks and eyelids. In this situation, the EMT would assess the eyes:
After completing the primary assessment
A 15-year-old female was struck in the mouth with a baseball bat. She has lost her front teeth and is spitting blood. The EMT's priority concern when caring for this patient would be:
Airway compromise
A patient complains of lower back pain after falling down five stairs. Assessment of the patient's cervical spine reveals no displacement, tenderness, or instability. The patient does state that each leg has feelings of "electrical shocks" shooting through them. How should the EMT care for this patient?
Apply a properly sized cervical collar after initiating manual spine motion restriction
While working to build a house, a construction worker was hit in the head by a 2-inch × 4-inch plank that slid from the roof and fell to the ground below. The patient has a sizable laceration to the left side of his face and is spitting and coughing blood. He also lost several teeth, two of which he is holding. Your initial action when caring for this patient would be to:
Apply supplemental oxygen
While evaluating a patient who experienced a fall, you note crepitus in the left forearm in the area of the wrist. Crepitus in the wrist is typically caused by:
Bone ends grinding together
You have been called to a residence of a patient with diabetes who exhibits an altered mental status. A family member states she could not reach the patient by telephone, so she came over and found the patient awake but confused. The patient can remember his name and address, but cannot remember the day or year. He refuses to go to the hospital, but consents to an assessment. Of these physical exam findings discerned on assessment, which one is most concerning?
Bruise to the left temple
Which finding, when considered individually, is most consistent with a basilar skull fracture?
Bruising behind the ear
You are assessing a patient who was involved in a motorcycle accident. He states that he saw an oncoming car and "laid the bike down" to avoid an outright collision. He was wearing a helmet. Which injury pattern would make sense given the action of the motorcyclist?
Burn to the inside of the leg from the motorcycle exhaust pipe
A 27-year-old male fell down a full flight of stairs while escaping his burning apartment. Which assessment finding in this patient should demand your immediate attention?
Burns on the face
You suspect that an unhelmeted male patient who was thrown from a motorcycle may have a basilar skull fracture. As you perform the secondary assessment, which finding would reinforce this suspicion?
Clear fluid coming from the right ear and the left nostril
A conscious and alert 32-year-old male was assaulted and struck in the jaw with a baseball bat. He complains of tremendous jaw pain and exhibits an unstable mandible. His airway is patent, breathing adequate, and radial pulse normal. In caring for this patient and his injury, you would:
Consider the need to implement spine motion restriction precautions
An alert and oriented patient has had a portion of his hand amputated by a table saw. Assessment reveals the patient to be in great pain, with a moderate amount of dark red blood still coming from the injury site. His airway is open and his breathing is fast, but adequate. The radial pulse is rapid and strong, and his skin is warm and dry. The patient's amputated hand has been placed in a bag of ice by coworkers. What should the EMT do immediately?
Control the bleeding with direct pressure
Assessment of an 88-year-old female who fell reveals bruising to her right buttock. The skin is intact and the patient complains of tenderness to the area when you palpate. As a knowledgeable EMT, you would recognize this patient has which type of injury?
Contusion
You are assessing an elderly male patient who was trapped in a burning trailer. Which finding would be most indicative that he has an inhalation injury?
Coughing of black sputum
During an altercation, an intoxicated male was cut with a sharp knife. Assessment reveals a laceration, oozing dark red blood, across the right eyelid down to the right cheek. It also appears that the patient's eye was cut with the knife, a suspicion reinforced by the patient's complaint of eye pain and collection of blood in the sclera. The EMT would:
Cover the eye with a sterile dressing soaked in saline
A man grinding metal took his safety goggles off and was struck in the face with a shower of tiny metal fragments. He now complains of pain and visual disturbance in his right eye. When assessing the eye, you note that the globe is red, with several pieces of metal embedded in the tissue. Proper care of this patient would include:
Covering both eyes with a bandage
A patient complains of pain and discomfort to the left eye after being hit in the face with a cloud of dust while working at a manufacturing complex. As you specifically assess the eye, you note some redness to the globe but do not see any obvious foreign object. The most appropriate care you can provide to this patient would be:
Covering both eyes with a bandage
Emergency Medical Responders have removed an intoxicated and confused patient from a car that struck another vehicle at a high rate of speed. The patient was unrestrained and his car did not have air bags. Assessment reveals deformity bilaterally to the hips and femurs and bruising to the knees. Based on this injury pattern, the EMT would recognize which type of injury mechanism?
Down and under
You are first on the scene of a two-car motor vehicle collision. Two patients are entrapped in one vehicle. In the other vehicle, there is a male driver complaining of chest pain. During this time, your primary concern is:
Ensuring personal safety
A fair-skinned patient was exposed to the sun and has a painful superficial burn to her upper back. As a knowledgeable EMT, you would recognize that which layer(s) of the skin has been injured?
Epidermal
A patient has swelling and deformity to the wrist. After splinting, in which position should the hand be placed?
Fingers curled inward
A young girl complains of eye pain after having sand thrown in her face by another girl at the park. When assessing her eyes, you note large particles of sand in the right eye. The sand appears to be on the conjunctiva, which also seems to be scratched and irritated. Your initial management of this injury would be:
Flush the eye with clean water or sterile water from the ambulance
The function of the lens of the eye is to:
Focus light onto the retina
A young male golfer has been struck in the right eye with a golf club. The upper and lower lids are swollen shut and ecchymotic. There are also blood clots between the two eyelids. What would be an indication that the EMT is providing proper care to this patient?
He wipes any remaining blood from the face but not the eye
You have been called to a high school science lab, where a male student was splashed in the eye with an alkaline solution. The patient complains of burning to the eye as well as pain. After performing the primary assessment and finding no life-threatening conditions, you would:
Hold the patient's eye open and begin flushing with large amounts of tap water, and continue this intervention throughout transport
Blood in the anterior chamber of the eye is called:
Hyphema
Which statement is most accurate concerning spine motion restriction of an ambulatory patient?
If the patient is reliable, he can self-restrict while the cervical collar is applied
As brain herniation occurs, the body responds by:
Increasing systolic blood pressure in an attempt to maintain perfusion to the brain
A 22-year-old male attempted to hang himself in a garage using chains suspended from the roof trusses. He was quickly found by family members and taken down to the ground. Currently he is complaining of neck pain as well as mild difficulty breathing. Assessment shows his airway to be patent, breathing adequate, and skin warm and dry. His neck is red, but free of any subcutaneous air or swelling. Your partner has identified an abnormal bony protrusion to a couple of his cervical vertebrae. What should you do first when caring for this patient?
Initiate manual spine motion restriction
At a scene where a vehicle was involved in a single-car accident, you find the driver walking around at the scene. As you approach, the driver states that he felt fine when he exited the vehicle but is now concerned that his legs feel like they are "going to sleep." What is your first step in treating the driver?
Instruct him to hold his head in a neutral inline position
A worker in a factory complex has a sliver of metal lodged in the colored portion of his eye. The EMT would recognize the foreign body as lying in the:
Iris
You have been called for an elderly female who was found by family members on the floor of her bathroom. She is unresponsive and has a bruise to the right side of her face. Her respirations are snoring and shallow. Her skin is cool and dry, and she is incontinent of urine. Her daughter tells you that the patient has a past medical history of stroke, COPD, and seizures. Which intervention would be most appropriate when managing this patient's airway?
Jaw-thrust maneuver
A 57-year-old man tripped and fell on the sidewalk, hitting his head on the concrete. According to witnesses, the patient was unresponsive for several minutes following the fall. Which bit of information would be most critical to relay to the physician in the emergency department?
Known history of alcoholism
A splint applied too loosely can lead to which complication?
Laceration of previously intact blood vessels
A football player was struck in the head during a hard tackle, and is reportedly demonstrating retrograde amnesia to the event. Currently the patient complains of a headache and nausea and reports that he has pain to his upper back and tingling in his left hand. The EMT is providing proper care for the patient when he:
Leaves the helmet in place but removes the face mask first
A patient had an unknown chemical splashed into her left eye at a factory. You have been irrigating the eye on scene and are now getting ready to transfer the patient to the stretcher. Knowing that you will need to continue irrigation throughout transport, how will you position this patient on the stretcher?
Left lateral recumbent
A car has been hit head-on by another vehicle at a moderate rate of speed. Seat belts were in place and the air bags deployed. The patient complains of chest pain. Quick observation reveals a bruise to his sternum. The EMT should immediately:
Lift the air bag and check for steering wheel deformity
A patient whom you transported several days ago stops by your station to thank you. He reports that he was diagnosed with a strain to the lower right leg. As such, you recognize which structure as being affected by that injury?
Muscle
A 3-year-old child has stuck a crayon in his nose. Assessment reveals the crayon to be deeply embedded in the right nostril, with some irritation and swelling noted. His vital signs are pulse, 124 beats/min; respiration, 20 breaths/min; and SpO2, 99%. What would be most appropriate action to take when caring for this child?
Nonemergent transport to the hospital
A 42-year-old man has called 911 because of severe back pain. He informs you that his back pain is related to a recent fracture of his coccyx. Based on this information, where should the EMT expect the patient to be complaining of pain?
Pelvic area
An unrestrained middle-aged female was thrown from her car as it rolled in the median of an interstate. She is supine, appears unresponsive, has blood on her face, and has snoring respirations. Your first action upon reaching her side, after taking spine motion restriction precautions, should be to:
Perform the jaw-thrust maneuver
The EMT is by the side of a young female who was cut while washing dishes. She has a jagged laceration to her left forearm that is bleeding steadily and heavily. When attempting to control the bleeding, the EMT would first:
Place a large sterile dressing over the site, with hand pressure applied over the top of the dressing
A 14-year-old male fell 10 feet from a retaining wall and hit his head on a metal post. He is responsive to verbal stimuli with incomprehensible speech. The secondary assessment indicates blood and fluid coming from inside the patient's left ear. Given these assessment findings, the EMT should:
Place a piece of sterile gauze over the ear to catch the fluid
Your assessment of a patient who was involved in a motor vehicle collision reveals a deformity to the left side of the head underneath the hair. On further inspection, you note that the skin overlying the deformity is still intact. Based on these assessment findings, what should be the EMT's greatest concern?
Possible brain injury
A 36-year-old male patient was involved in an altercation and now has a 2-inch laceration from a knife to the right side of his neck. Bleeding was controlled prior to your arrival by Emergency Medical Responders. Your paramedic partner has asked you to apply an occlusive dressing to the wound. You recognize that the primary benefit of the action is to:
Prevent air entry into the circulatory system
A young man was riding a motorcycle when he was hit head on by a car and thrown from the bike. Your scene size-up reveals him to be lying supine in the roadway with obvious deformity to his right thigh and left ankle, with blood noted on his pants in these areas. The patient assessment reveals he is unresponsive with snoring respirations and is breathing irregularly at 16 times per minute. His radial pulse is moderate in strength, and his skin is warm and dry. Which action should be performed first by the EMT?
Provide manual cervical spine motion restriction
A "whiplash"-type neck injury is most often observed with which type of collision?
Rear-end impact
A frantic mother dialed 911 for her 3-year-old daughter, who stuck a small, dried bean into her ear. Assessment shows the bean to be lodged firmly in the ear canal. When treating this patient, the EMT would:
Reassure the mother and transport the patient to the emergency department
In a patient with conjunctivitis, the EMT would expect to observe a/an:
Reddened membrane over the sclera
What is a general guideline to use when deciding whether to remove a patient's contact lenses?
Remove contact lenses if the eye has been injured by a chemical burn
A motorcyclist wearing a full helmet was thrown from his motorcycle after hitting a patch of oil on the road. The bike had been traveling at a high rate of speed. Manual spine motion restriction is being maintained by an off-duty EMT. The primary assessment reveals the patient to be responsive to painful stimuli and breathing rapidly with slight sonorous airway sounds. His radial pulse is weak and fast. As you quickly scan his body, you note deformity to the left femur and lower leg. Your immediate action should be to:
Remove his helmet
An elderly woman experienced a closed head injury when she fell down five steps. She is responsive to painful stimuli and her breathing is irregular and shallow. When evaluating her airway, you note that she has both upper and lower dentures. Her upper dentures are secure, but her lower dentures are loose. Prior to providing positive pressure ventilation, you would:
Remove the lower dentures
A young male who was drinking heavily has been involved in a motor vehicle accident. As an unrestrained driver, his head went through the driver's-side window; in the process, a portion of his ear was severed. Blood is now coming from the remaining portion of his left ear. In overseeing the care of this patient, which action by another EMT would require corrective action?
Rolled gauze packed into the ear canal to slow bleeding
When assessing a male patient who was punched in the face by another man, you detect blood in the white portion of his eye. Which optical structure has been injured?
Sclera
An 8-year-old boy fell forward off of a swing onto outstretched arms. He did not hit his head or lose consciousness and is complaining of left forearm pain. There is deformity to the left wrist, but no other injuries or life threats. His vital signs are pulse 132 beats/min, respirations 20 breaths/min, blood pressure 108/62 mmHg, and SpO2 100%. The proper care of this patient would be to:
Secure the forearm to a padded board splint and apply a cold pack to the injury site before transporting the patient nonemergently
A patient has just been log rolled and positioned onto the long backboard. Which care measure should be performed next, assuming it was not previously completed?
Secure the patient's torso with straps
The best way to detect contact lenses for removal is to:
Shine a penlight into each eye at a slight angle and look for a shadow
A 49-year-old male has been stabbed in the lower right chest. Police tell you that the patient got into an argument with an unidentified man, who then stabbed him before fleeing the scene. After assessing the patient, you are suspicious that the knife punctured the lung and is causing internal bleeding. In this situation, the mechanism of injury would be:
Stab wound to the right chest
A young boy was running with a pencil and tripped. The pencil impaled the boy's left eye and remains lodged in place. He is in his mother's arms and both are crying hysterically. Appropriate care for the eye would include:
Stabilizing the impaled object and providing immediate transport
As you pull up to a motor vehicle collision, you quickly scan the scene for clues as to the type and severity of injuries. Which observation would best indicate that a patient may have a head injury?
Starburst on the windshield
A young female patient involved in a motor vehicle collision responds to painful stimuli by extending her arms and legs. Her airway is open, and her breathing is shallow and irregular. A radial pulse that is moderate in strength is palpated. Her pulse is 64 beats/min, respirations are 8 breaths/min and irregular, and blood pressure is 210/110 mmHg, with an SpO2 of 90% on room air. The patient has an obvious deformity to her forehead and a left pupil that is dilated and does not respond to light. Manual spine motion restriction is being maintained by Emergency Medial Responders (). At this time, the EMT's priority action is to:
Start positive pressure ventilation at 20 breaths/min
What are the three main layers of the skin?
Subcutaneous, epidermis, dermis
A female patient struck her face on the steering wheel in a head-on motor vehicle collision and has deformity and crepitus to the bridge of her nose. Further assessment reveals bleeding deep within the nasal passages. Prior to your arrival, fire department EMRs have secured the patient to a long spine board and applied a cervical collar and straps. To best address the hemorrhage in the nasopharynx, the EMT would:
Suction blood from the airway as needed
You are assessing a male patient who was stabbed three times in the chest and abdomen. As you begin your primary assessment, you note the patient to have a decreased level of consciousness and gurgling respirations. Your next action would be to
Suction the airway
A 23-year-old male struck his face on the steering wheel when his vehicle hit another car from behind. The patient's nose is deformed and actively bleeding. In his care, which intervention would be a priority?
Suction the airway to keep it free of blood
A construction worker has been shot with a nail gun, resulting in a long nail going through his cheek and becoming firmly embedded in the lower gum and jaw. There is considerable blood in his mouth, and the patient is in excruciating pain. Given this scenario, what would be your first priority?
Suctioning the airway of blood
A 41-year-old male patient was struck in the head with a metal pipe during a fight with an angry neighbor. The scene is safe, and as you approach the patient, you note that he is combative and has blood on the left side of his head and face, and on his shirt. His breathing appears to be labored and he is incontinent of urine. Which care should you perform immediately?
Take manual cervical spine motion restriction
When teaching Emergency Medical Responders about air bags, which point would you emphasize?
The benefit of air bags is lessened in a multiple-vehicle collision impact
In the human body, which condition is present when a person is in shock?
The cells do not get enough oxygen and waste products accumulate
Which statement is most accurate regarding the processes needed for a patient to clench the hand into a fist?
The central nervous system must send a message through the spinal cord and then to the peripheral nerves
A patient complaining of eye pain informs you that he was diagnosed with a corneal abrasion three days ago. He called 911 today because the discomfort has not yet resolved and he desires medical attention. Based on this information, which statement is most accurate?
The clear structure that covers the pupil has been damaged
Which statement shows that the EMTs are correctly using a vest-type device while removing a patient from an entrapped vehicle location?
The head is secured to the device after the torso has been secured
Which statement best characterizes the capabilities of a Level III trauma center?
The hospital has some surgical capabilities to help trauma patients, but will generally stabilize and them and still arrange transfer
You are assessing the pupils of a patient who hit his head after falling from the top of a tractor trailer. Which pupillary finding suggests a closed head injury?
The left pupil constricts to light but the right pupil does not
A 21-year-old-female has been struck in the left eye by a softball during a game. Which finding is most concerning for an eye injury?
Unusual sensitivity to light
A patient has a history of tendonitis to the right elbow. Based on this history, the EMT would understand that the:
Tissue connecting the muscle to the bones of the elbow is inflamed
Your partner is off from work for an extended period because he is having surgery for a torn ligament. Which structure is in need of that surgery?
Tissue that connects one bone to other bones
