CPCT Emergency Response and CPR 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A conscious adult patient is clutching their throat and cannot speak, cough, or breathe. What should the PCT do?
- Perform rescue breathing
- Perform abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver) (Correct answer)
- Lay the patient flat and call for help only
- Begin chest compressions
Correct answer: Perform abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver)
The universal choking sign combined with inability to speak or breathe indicates severe airway obstruction requiring immediate abdominal thrusts.
Question 2: After delivering a shock with an AED, what should immediately follow?
- Check for a pulse for 1 minute
- Resume CPR immediately, starting with chest compressions (Correct answer)
- Deliver a second shock
- Remove the AED pads
Correct answer: Resume CPR immediately, starting with chest compressions
After AED shock delivery, CPR should be resumed immediately beginning with compressions without pausing to check for a pulse.
Question 3: Which of the following is a sign of anaphylaxis requiring emergency intervention?
- Mild itching of the forearm
- Hives, throat tightness, and sudden hypotension (Correct answer)
- Gradual redness at an injection site
- Mild nausea after medication
Correct answer: Hives, throat tightness, and sudden hypotension
Anaphylaxis presents with rapid-onset hives, airway compromise (throat tightness/stridor), and hemodynamic instability (hypotension), requiring immediate epinephrine and emergency response.
Question 4: What is the purpose of allowing complete chest recoil between CPR compressions?
- To allow the rescuer to rest
- To allow the heart to refill with blood for the next compression (Correct answer)
- To check for a pulse
- To deliver a rescue breath
Correct answer: To allow the heart to refill with blood for the next compression
Full chest recoil allows negative pressure to draw blood back into the ventricles so subsequent compressions can eject blood forward.
Question 5: A patient suddenly becomes pale, diaphoretic, and loses consciousness. After activating emergency response, the PCT should:
- Place the patient in Trendelenburg position and wait for the nurse
- Check responsiveness, call for help, begin CPR if no normal breathing and no pulse (Correct answer)
- Administer oxygen via non-rebreather mask and monitor only
- Elevate the head of the bed and apply cold compresses
Correct answer: Check responsiveness, call for help, begin CPR if no normal breathing and no pulse
If a patient becomes unresponsive with absent or agonal breathing, emergency response activation and CPR initiation are the correct immediate steps.
Question 6: For infant CPR, where should chest compressions be performed?
- Upper half of the sternum
- Just below the nipple line on the lower half of the sternum (Correct answer)
- On the xiphoid process
- On the left lateral chest wall
Correct answer: Just below the nipple line on the lower half of the sternum
Infant compressions are performed on the lower half of the sternum, just below the nipple line, using two fingers or two-thumb-encircling technique.
CPCT Emergency Response and CPR 2
A conscious adult patient is clutching their throat and cannot speak, cough, or breathe.
What should the PCT do?