Patient Assessment and Triage Flashcards
7 cards from real AEMCA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Patient Assessment and Triage flashcards as text
Which vital sign finding in an adult trauma patient should most immediately concern the AEMCA regarding hemodynamic instability?
Answer: Heart rate of 120 bpm with systolic BP of 90 mmHg
Tachycardia combined with hypotension (systolic <90 mmHg) is a classic sign of decompensated shock requiring immediate intervention.
A patient with suspected spinal injury who is found prone should be moved to a supine position using:
Answer: A log-roll technique with manual spinal stabilization
The log-roll technique with manual in-line spinal stabilization minimizes movement of the vertebral column when repositioning a patient with suspected spinal injury.
The primary purpose of the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (CPSS) during patient assessment is to:
Answer: Rapidly identify signs of stroke using facial droop, arm drift, and speech
The CPSS uses three findings — facial droop, arm drift, and abnormal speech — to rapidly identify stroke in the prehospital setting.
In pediatric patients, which of the following is the MOST reliable early indicator of shock?
Answer: Tachycardia
Children compensate well and maintain blood pressure until late in shock; tachycardia is the earliest and most reliable indicator of hypovolemia in pediatric patients.
When assessing a patient's pupils during the neurological examination, anisocoria refers to:
Answer: Unequal pupil sizes
Anisocoria is the term for unequal pupil sizes, which may indicate a unilateral intracranial lesion or herniation in a trauma patient.
During triage of a mass casualty incident, a patient who has extensive burns over 80% of body surface area with no respirations is classified as:
Answer: Expectant (Black)
In an MCI, a patient with unsurvivable injuries and no respirations is classified Expectant (Black), reserving resources for salvageable patients.
The reassessment interval for an unstable critical patient during transport should be performed every:
Answer: 5 minutes
Unstable or critical patients should be reassessed every 5 minutes to detect changes in condition during transport.