AEMCA Trivia 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which nerve, when compressed during a diabetic emergency, can cause the patient to present with foot drop?
- Femoral nerve
- Common peroneal nerve (Correct answer)
- Sciatic nerve
- Tibial nerve
Correct answer: Common peroneal nerve
The common peroneal nerve wraps around the fibular head and is vulnerable to compression, causing foot drop.
Question 2: The term 'Beck's triad' is associated with which life-threatening emergency?
- Tension pneumothorax
- Cardiac tamponade (Correct answer)
- Aortic dissection
- Pulmonary embolism
Correct answer: Cardiac tamponade
Beck's triad — hypotension, muffled heart sounds, and jugular venous distension — classically indicates cardiac tamponade.
Question 3: What is the approximate volume of blood in the average adult human body?
- 3 liters
- 4 liters
- 5 liters (Correct answer)
- 7 liters
Correct answer: 5 liters
The average adult has approximately 5 liters (about 70 mL/kg) of circulating blood volume.
Question 4: Which EMS term describes the phenomenon where a patient's vital signs temporarily improve after a large fluid bolus but then deteriorate again?
- Reperfusion injury
- Transient responder (Correct answer)
- Afterload mismatch
- Compensatory shock
Correct answer: Transient responder
A 'transient responder' is a patient whose vitals briefly improve with fluid resuscitation but then worsen, suggesting ongoing hemorrhage.
Question 5: In pediatric patients, the Parkland formula for burn fluid resuscitation uses which weight-based calculation?
- 2 mL × kg × %BSA burned
- 4 mL × kg × %BSA burned (Correct answer)
- 6 mL × kg × %BSA burned
- 8 mL × kg × %BSA burned
Correct answer: 4 mL × kg × %BSA burned
The Parkland formula is 4 mL × kg × %BSA burned, with half given in the first 8 hours and half over the next 16 hours.
Question 6: Which cranial nerve is responsible for the gag reflex's afferent limb?
- CN VII (Facial)
- CN IX (Glossopharyngeal) (Correct answer)
- CN X (Vagus)
- CN XII (Hypoglossal)
Correct answer: CN IX (Glossopharyngeal)
CN IX (glossopharyngeal) carries the afferent signals from the posterior pharynx that trigger the gag reflex.
Question 7: The 'golden hour' concept in trauma care was popularized by which physician?
- Peter Safar
- R Adams Cowley (Correct answer)
- James Styner
- Frank Pantridge
Correct answer: R Adams Cowley
R Adams Cowley, founder of the first shock trauma unit, popularized the concept that critically injured patients must reach definitive care within the first hour.
AEMCA Trivia 2
Which nerve, when compressed during a diabetic emergency, can cause the patient to present with foot drop?