Questions and answers 1 What is a seizure? A seizure occurs when there is an abnormal surge of coordinated electrical impulses in the brain. It can have many different objective appearances such as shaking of the whole body, part of…
Questions and Answers 1 What is dyspnea? The word stem dys- means difficult and -pnea means breath. Combined, the word dyspnea means difficult breath. The symptom of dyspnea or shortness of breath is very subjective and is included in the…
Questions and Answers Obstetrical and Gynecologic Emergencies 1 What are the typical expected physiologic/anatomic changes in pregnancy? A number of changes occur. Average weight gain is 25–35 lbs (11.5–16 kg). Most weight gain is from the enlarged uterus/fetus, blood volume, breast…
Questions and Answers 1 What is sepsis and why is it important? Describing sepsis, Sir William Osler wrote: “Except on few occasions, the patient appears to die from the body’s response to infection rather than from (the infection itself).” Simply…
Questions and Answers Case: A neighbor calls 911 for someone continuously pounding trying to enter the apartment next door. They are worried that the person knocking is high on drugs. Police arrive to a confused male in his 20s and…
Questions and answers 1 What elements of history are helpful to elicit from a patient with abdominal pain? Establish the location, severity, duration, and a description of the pain. Any associated symptoms, such as fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, dysuria, hematuria, or…
Questions and answers Case: You arrive on scene to find a 69-year-old female with a past medical history of atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and heart failure and an implantable defibrillator with a pacemaker. She called because her defibrillator shocked her. 1…
Chest Pain 1 Name some life-threatening causes of chest pain. Chest pain can be due to a variety of causes. In the prehospital setting, it is always important to consider some of the more life-threatening etiologies to chest pain. Listed…
Questions and Answers 1 What is an EKG? An electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG) is a graphic recording of electrical potentials produced by the cardiac tissue and measured by electrodes placed at different sites on the body. 2 How does electrical activity travel…
Questions and Answers 1 What does altered mental status mean? Altered mental status is a disorder of consciousness; disorders of consciousness are divided into issues of arousal, thought content, or some combination of both. Dementia is more progressive in nature.…