Treatment Planning & Management Flashcards
7 cards from real EMS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Treatment Planning & Management flashcards as text
You are managing a patient with an open chest wound (sucking chest wound). After sealing three sides, the patient deteriorates. What is the NEXT action?
Answer: Perform needle decompression on the injured side
Deterioration after sealing a sucking chest wound suggests tension pneumothorax development, requiring immediate needle decompression.
During an MCI, a patient is found apneic after repositioning the airway. Under START triage, this patient is tagged:
Answer: Black (Expectant/Deceased)
In START triage, a patient who remains apneic after airway repositioning is tagged Black (Expectant/Deceased) as resources are allocated to salvageable patients.
A patient with a suspected spinal injury is found in a vehicle. When is it appropriate to perform a rapid extrication?
Answer: When the scene is unsafe or the patient is in immediate life threat
Rapid extrication overrides spinal precautions only when the scene is unsafe or the patient requires immediate life-saving intervention.
A neonate is delivered in the field and has a heart rate of 90 bpm, poor muscle tone, and weak cry. What is the CORRECT initial intervention?
Answer: Stimulate and suction, then reassess
Initial neonatal resuscitation begins with warming, drying, stimulation, and suctioning before escalating to positive pressure ventilation or compressions.
A patient is in pulseless ventricular tachycardia. After the first defibrillation, CPR is immediately resumed. When should the rhythm be NEXT checked?
Answer: After 2 minutes (5 cycles) of CPR
Current AHA guidelines recommend 2 minutes (5 cycles) of CPR after each defibrillation before pausing for rhythm and pulse check.
Which finding in a head-injured patient is MOST indicative of increasing intracranial pressure (Cushing's Triad)?
Answer: Bradycardia, hypertension, irregular respirations
Cushing's Triad — bradycardia, hypertension, and irregular respirations — is a late sign of dangerously elevated ICP and brain herniation.
A patient with heat stroke has a core temperature of 105°F and altered mental status. Which cooling method should be AVOIDED in the prehospital setting?
Answer: Ice water immersion
Ice water immersion can cause peripheral vasoconstriction trapping heat centrally and may precipitate cardiac arrhythmias in the field setting.