Toxicology and Poisoning Flashcards
7 cards from real Paramedics Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Toxicology and Poisoning flashcards as text
A patient presents with miosis, excessive salivation, bronchospasm, and bradycardia after exposure to pesticides. What is the most appropriate initial treatment?
Answer: Atropine and pralidoxime
Atropine blocks muscarinic effects and pralidoxime reactivates acetylcholinesterase, making them the combined antidote for organophosphate poisoning.
A 25-year-old is unresponsive with pinpoint pupils and a respiratory rate of 4 breaths/min. What is the priority intervention?
Answer: Administer naloxone and support ventilation
Naloxone reverses opioid-induced respiratory depression, and assisted ventilation immediately addresses the life-threatening hypoxia.
Which of the following is a contraindication to administering activated charcoal?
Answer: Ingestion of a caustic acid or alkali
Activated charcoal does not bind caustic substances and can obscure endoscopic evaluation of mucosal injury, making it contraindicated with caustic ingestions.
A worker found unconscious in an enclosed space with a running generator has cherry-red skin. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Answer: Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide binds hemoglobin with high affinity causing carboxyhemoglobin, which produces cherry-red skin discoloration, and is classically associated with combustion in enclosed spaces.
A depressed patient presents with wide complex tachycardia, seizures, and hypotension. Her ECG shows a prolonged QRS. Which treatment is indicated?
Answer: Sodium bicarbonate 1–2 mEq/kg IV
Sodium bicarbonate alkalinizes the blood and provides excess sodium to overcome tricyclic antidepressant-induced sodium channel blockade, reversing cardiac toxicity.
A 35-year-old female ingested an entire bottle of acetaminophen 8 hours ago and now has nausea, vomiting, and right upper quadrant pain. What is the treatment of choice?
Answer: N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
N-acetylcysteine replenishes hepatic glutathione stores, preventing toxic metabolite accumulation and hepatotoxicity from acetaminophen overdose.
Which finding would you NOT expect in a patient with cyanide poisoning?
Answer: Bradycardia and pinpoint pupils
Bradycardia and miosis are signs of opioid or cholinergic toxidrome; cyanide poisoning typically causes tachycardia and does not produce miosis.