Medical Conditions & Ongoing Care Flashcards

A patient with a history of heart failure arrives with bilateral crackles in the lungs, swollen ankles, and dyspnea at rest. This presentation is most consistent with:

Answer: Acute decompensated heart failure with pulmonary edema

Bilateral crackles, dependent edema, and dyspnea at rest are classic signs of acute decompensated heart failure with pulmonary edema.

During ongoing assessment of an abdominal pain patient, you notice the abdomen has become rigid and the patient's pain has worsened. This finding suggests:

Answer: Peritoneal irritation or acute abdomen requiring urgent evacuation

Board-like abdominal rigidity with escalating pain indicates peritoneal irritation, which is a surgical emergency requiring rapid evacuation.

A patient with Type 1 diabetes is unconscious and cannot swallow. Which intervention is appropriate for the OEC technician at the BLS level?

Answer: Place glucose gel in the buccal mucosa (cheek) while maintaining airway protection

Glucose gel can be absorbed through the buccal mucosa in unconscious patients, but airway protection is paramount to prevent aspiration.

What is the most reliable field indicator of adequate perfusion during ongoing patient monitoring?

Answer: Skin color, temperature, and condition (CTC) combined with mental status

Skin CTC combined with mental status provides a dynamic picture of perfusion; no single finding is as reliable as this combination in the field.

A patient with a suspected pulmonary embolism after a long ski bus ride has sudden pleuritic chest pain and hemoptysis. Which position is most appropriate for transport?

Answer: Position of comfort, typically sitting up or semi-recumbent with oxygen

PE patients often breathe more comfortably semi-upright; high-flow oxygen addresses hypoxia and comfort positioning reduces respiratory effort.

An elderly patient with altered mental status has a history of seizures and takes phenytoin. The OEC technician should consider that altered mental status in this patient may be caused by:

Answer: Phenytoin toxicity, post-ictal state, or a new seizure event

Anti-seizure medications like phenytoin can cause toxicity-related AMS, and the post-ictal state after a seizure is also a common cause in epileptic patients.

When would an OEC technician appropriately withhold CPR from a patient in cardiac arrest in the backcountry?

Answer: When there are obvious signs of death such as rigor mortis, dependent lividity, or decapitation

CPR is withheld only with clear, unambiguous signs of irreversible death (rigor mortis, lividity, decapitation); hypothermic patients may still be resuscitable.