You are dispatched to a drug rehabilitation center for a 27-year-old pregnant female with vaginal bleeding and a tearing sensation in her abdomen. When you arrive at the scene and begin to assess the patient, you note the presence of dark red vaginal bleeding, hypotension, and tachycardia. The individual responsible for the patient states that she is 36 weeks' pregnant and is in the rehabilitation center for frequent cocaine use. This patient's clinical presentation and history suggests that:
A. vessels are tearing from the placenta at the cervix.
B. the arteries of the umbilical cord have ruptured.
C. the placenta has separated from the uterine wall.
D. her uterus has ruptured due to frequent cocaine use.
Answer: C. the placenta has separated from the uterine wall.
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A diabetic patient who took insulin earlier is found unresponsive with a blood glucose level of 29 mg/dL. What piece of information provided by family gives the best explanation for the patient's altered mental status?
A) "He ate pancakes with syrup after taking his insulin." B) "His blood sugar normally goes up after eating." C) "He only took half of his required dose of insulin this morning." D) "He refused to eat breakfast and lunch today."
During a closed suctioning procedure, the patient's heart rate changes from 95 to 58 beats/min. The respiratory therapist should take what immediate action?
a. Continue the procedure until secretions are removed. b. Stop the procedure and switch to the open suctioning method. c. Stop the procedure and use the ventilator to hyperoxygenate the patient with 100% oxygen. d. Remove the patient from the ventilator and ventilate the person with a resuscitator bag.
An advance directive is MOST accurately defined as a:
A) written document that expresses the wants, needs, and desires of a patient in reference to his or her future medical care. B) legal document that describes which life-sustaining procedures are to be performed if the patient's condition acutely deteriorates. C) notarized document that is executed by a terminally ill patient's family when the patient develops cardiopulmonary arrest. D) general guideline provided to the paramedic by the medical director that stipulates the level of care provided to terminally ill patients.
Which of the following procedures requires that surgical asepsis be maintained?
A. Using a spirometer B. Applying casting materials to a patient with a closed fracture C. Performing a dipstick urinalysis D. Cleaning a colonoscope E. Aspiration of fluid from a cyst in the breast