CN Emergency Procedures & Response 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client receiving enteral tube feeding suddenly develops coughing, choking, and difficulty breathing during the feeding. What is the most likely emergency and first action?
- Aspiration; stop the feeding immediately (Correct answer)
- Refeeding syndrome; slow the feeding rate
- Dumping syndrome; give water
- Constipation; increase fiber in the formula
Correct answer: Aspiration; stop the feeding immediately
Coughing and respiratory distress during tube feeding suggest aspiration, so the feeding must be stopped immediately.
Question 2: A severely malnourished client begins aggressive nutritional repletion and develops muscle weakness, confusion, and cardiac arrhythmia. Which electrolyte disturbance is the hallmark of this emergency?
- Hypophosphatemia (Correct answer)
- Hypernatremia
- Hypercalcemia
- Hyperkalemia
Correct answer: Hypophosphatemia
Refeeding syndrome is characterized primarily by a dangerous drop in serum phosphate along with low potassium and magnesium.
Question 3: During group cooking class, a participant sustains a burn on the forearm from hot oil. What is the correct first aid?
- Cool the burn under cool running water for 10-20 minutes (Correct answer)
- Apply butter or oil to seal the skin
- Pop any blisters that form to release fluid
- Apply ice directly to the burn
Correct answer: Cool the burn under cool running water for 10-20 minutes
Burns should be cooled with cool (not ice-cold) running water for 10-20 minutes; butter and ice worsen tissue damage.
Question 4: A client with an eating disorder reports vomiting multiple times daily and now has muscle cramps, palpitations, and weakness. Which lab abnormality creates the greatest immediate cardiac risk?
- Hypokalemia (Correct answer)
- Elevated LDL cholesterol
- Low vitamin D
- Mild anemia
Correct answer: Hypokalemia
Repeated vomiting causes potassium loss, and hypokalemia can trigger life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias.
Question 5: An elderly client at a community nutrition site shows confusion, dry mouth, sunken eyes, and dark urine on a hot day. What emergency condition should be suspected?
- Severe dehydration possibly progressing to heat illness (Correct answer)
- Food allergy reaction
- Hyperglycemic ketoacidosis only
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
Correct answer: Severe dehydration possibly progressing to heat illness
Confusion with classic dehydration signs in heat suggests severe dehydration and possible heat-related illness requiring urgent fluids and cooling.
Question 6: While assisting a client who is choking, the client becomes unresponsive. What should the rescuer do next?
- Lower the client to the ground and begin CPR, checking the mouth for the object before breaths (Correct answer)
- Continue abdominal thrusts while the client is standing
- Perform a blind finger sweep repeatedly
- Wait for EMS without intervening
Correct answer: Lower the client to the ground and begin CPR, checking the mouth for the object before breaths
When a choking victim becomes unresponsive, begin CPR and look in the mouth for a visible object before each set of breaths, never doing blind finger sweeps.
Question 7: A client taking a MAOI antidepressant eats aged cheese at a clinic event and develops a severe headache, stiff neck, and dangerously high blood pressure. What is this emergency called?
- Hypertensive crisis from tyramine interaction (Correct answer)
- Anaphylactic shock
- Serotonin syndrome from carbohydrate intake
- Hypoglycemic episode
Correct answer: Hypertensive crisis from tyramine interaction
Tyramine-rich foods like aged cheese can cause a hypertensive crisis in clients taking MAOIs.
CN Emergency Procedures & Response 3
A client receiving enteral tube feeding suddenly develops coughing, choking, and difficulty breathing during the feeding.
What is the most likely emergency and first action?