It is mid-February and you respond to a local movie theater for a 42-year-old man with respiratory distress. Upon arrival, you and your partner are directed to the lobby where you observe a patient who appears to be having trouble breathing. The patient is leaning forward and speaking in short bursts. You notice the patient is using accessory muscles in his neck to help with breathing. The patient informs you he was standing outside in the cold for over 20 minutes waiting for a friend. He has a history of asthma, but has not had an attack in several years. The patient denies any other past medical history, takes no medications, and has no allergies. Vital signs are as follows: pulse, 106 beats/min; respirations, 26 breaths/min and labored; blood pressure, 142/88 mm Hg; and Spo2, 91%. Your physical examination reveals obvious accessory muscle use to the chest and neck and diffuse wheezing in all lung fields.Which of the following statements most accurately describes a key distinction between pediatric and adult patients experiencing a respiratory emergency?

It is mid-February and you respond to a local movie theater for a 42-year-old man with respiratory distress. Upon arrival, you and your partner are directed to the lobby where you observe a patient who appears to be having trouble breathing. The patient is leaning forward and speaking in short bursts. You notice the patient is using accessory muscles in his neck to help with breathing. The patient informs you he was standing outside in the cold for over 20 minutes waiting for a friend. He has a history of asthma, but has not had an attack in several years. The patient denies any other past medical history, takes no medications, and has no allergies. Vital signs are as follows: pulse, 106 beats/min; respirations, 26 breaths/min and labored; blood pressure, 142/88 mm Hg; and Spo2, 91%. Your physical examination reveals obvious accessory muscle use to the chest and neck and diffuse wheezing in all lung fields.The patient is exhibiting signs of respiratory distress, such as accessory muscle use and difficulty speaking. Which of the following is also a sign of respiratory distress?

It is mid-February and you respond to a local movie theater for a 42-year-old man with respiratory distress. Upon arrival, you and your partner are directed to the lobby where you observe a patient who appears to be having trouble breathing. The patient is leaning forward and speaking in short bursts. You notice the patient is using accessory muscles in his neck to help with breathing. The patient informs you he was standing outside in the cold for over 20 minutes waiting for a friend. He has a history of asthma, but has not had an attack in several years. The patient denies any other past medical history, takes no medications, and has no allergies. Vital signs are as follows: pulse, 106 beats/min; respirations, 26 breaths/min and labored; blood pressure, 142/88 mm Hg; and Spo2, 91%. Your physical examination reveals obvious accessory muscle use to the chest and neck and diffuse wheezing in all lung fields.Which of the following statements is true regarding asthma?

Your EMS supervisor is conducting a tabletop exercise with your crew in preparation for the next cardiac arrest call and wants to assess your crew’s knowledge of cardiac arrest management. She presents your crew with the following scenario questions.When performing CPR on an adult, you should compress the chest to a depth of __________ at a rate of __________ compressions per minute.

Your EMS supervisor is conducting a tabletop exercise with your crew in preparation for the next cardiac arrest call and wants to assess your crew’s knowledge of cardiac arrest management. She presents your crew with the following scenario questions.What is the proper compression-to-ventilation ratio for adult two-rescuer CPR?

You are dispatched to a local residence for a 70-year-old man reporting difficulty breathing. On arrival, you find the patient sitting in the living room on home oxygen. He is leaning forward, supporting himself with his hands on his knees, and as you approach, you notice he appears to be in respiratory distress and is using accessory muscles to help with breathing. He is unable to speak due to his difficulty breathing. His wife informs you that the patient has been ill for the past 2 days with a cough and increasing shortness of breath. He has a past medical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, and diabetes.In this case, your transport decision is based on the:

You are dispatched to a residence for a patient with a headache. You arrive to find a 68-year-old man sitting up in a recliner in the living room; he is leaning slightly to the left. His wife reports he had a sudden headache about 1 hour ago. As you assess the patient, you notice that his speech is slurred and he is not moving his left side. You ask the patient to lift his left arm; he lifts his right instead. You also note a left-sided facial droop. A check of his vital signs shows a pulse of 100 beats/min, a blood pressure of 188/110 mm Hg, and respirations of 22 breaths/min. His past medical history includes poorly controlled diabetes and hypertension. He reports a blood glucose level of 70 mg/dL. As you prepare for transport, the patient experiences a generalized seizure.On the basis of the patient’s condition, what should you be most concerned with?

You are dispatched to a person reporting chest pain and shortness of breath. You arrive at the residence to find a 56-year-old man sitting in the kitchen. His skin is ashen, and he is diaphoretic. The patient describes the pain as substernal and crushing. On a scale of 0 to 10, he states his pain is an 8. The patient had a myocardial infarction 2 years ago, and he has angina, hypertension, and high cholesterol. His medications include nitroglycerin, furosemide, and atorvastatin. His vital signs are as follows: pulse, 140 beats/min and irregular; respiratory rate, 28 breaths/min; and blood pressure, 90/50 mm Hg. You hear crackles when listening to his breath sounds.The patient’s difficulty breathing and crackles are due to blood backing up in which part of the body?

You are dispatched to a shelter for people experiencing homelessness, where a patient is reportedly having abdominal pain. Upon arrival you find a 63-year-old man leaning over the toilet vomiting and clutching his abdomen. The patient tells you that he has had the pain for 6 hours but he began vomiting and having throat pain about 30 minutes ago. He states that he had someone call 9-1-1 when the pain became unbearable and he started throwing up bright red blood. This is the first time he has had these symptoms. The pain is in his stomach and throat, and he describes it as sharp. He rates the pain as a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 and states that nothing makes the pain worse or better. He has no allergies and does not take any medications although he states that he has a history of a “big liver,” high blood pressure, and alcohol use disorder. His last oral intake was a six-pack of beer 4 hours ago. Vital signs are a pulse of 104 beats/min, respirations of 22 breaths/min, blood pressure of 86/58 mm Hg, and Spo2 of 97% on room air. His skin is pale, cool, and diaphoretic.Based on the patient’s presentation and your initial assessment findings, you suspect:

You are dispatched to a residence for a patient with a headache. You arrive to find a 68-year-old man sitting up in a recliner in the living room; he is leaning slightly to the left. His wife reports he had a sudden headache about 1 hour ago. As you assess the patient, you notice that his speech is slurred and he is not moving his left side. You ask the patient to lift his left arm; he lifts his right instead. You also note a left-sided facial droop. A check of his vital signs shows a pulse of 100 beats/min, a blood pressure of 188/110 mm Hg, and respirations of 22 breaths/min. His past medical history includes poorly controlled diabetes and hypertension. He reports a blood glucose level of 70 mg/dL. As you prepare for transport, the patient experiences a generalized seizure.This patient appears to be suffering from a stroke and a seizure. What condition mimics a stroke and also causes a seizure?