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You have been called to a residence for a patient with altered mental status and shortness of breath. On scene, an Emergency Medical Responder meets you and states that he believes the patient had a stroke and is unresponsive. As you enter the room, you see the patient lying in bed with snoring respirations. Oxygen at 15 liters per minute has been applied. Your immediate action when you reach the patient’s side would be to:

A patient informs you that he has a hard time breathing when he lies in bed. You would best document this report as:

The primary control or automaticity of the heart rate originates in the:

The EMT is correctly accessing for accessory muscle use when he examines which part of the body?

You are reviewing prehospital care reports and notice that a patient with low blood sugar and no contraindications to oral glucose did not receive the medication. You recognize that this inaction placed the patient at risk for which condition?

As you enter a room for an unknown medical emergency, you find an unresponsive male with snoring respirations lying supine in bed. Which action should you take immediately?

Which of these unresponsive patients would the EMT recognize as in cardiac arrest?

When assessing a patient who complains of shortness of breath but has an open airway, which action should the EMT perform next?

You have been called to a home for an 18-year-old male patient, who informs you that he experienced a sudden onset of shortness of breath and back pain while watching television. He has a history of spontaneous pneumothorax, and the current symptoms he is experiencing are identical to those he felt with a previous pneumothorax. Assessment reveals the patient to be slightly dyspneic with breath sounds clear and intact bilaterally. During transport, what is most critical to continually monitor on this patient?

The EMT should request advanced life support (ALS) backup for a patient in cardiac arrest because: