ALS/ACLS - Red Cross Final Exam [2023]
1. A patient with dyspnea and a change in men- Atropine 1 mg every 3 to 5 minutes
tal status arrives at the emergency department.
The healthcare team completes the necessary
assessments and begins to care for the patient,
including initiating cardiac monitoring, pulse
oximetry, supplemental oxygen and vascular ac-
cess. The team reviews the patient's ECG rhythm
strip, as shown in the following figure. Which
agent would the team most likely administer?
2. A patient with bradycardia and signs of hemo- Epinephrine or dopamine infusion
dynamic compromise does not respond to at- Transcutaneous pacing
ropine. Which interventions could the healthcare
provider use next?
3. The resuscitation team suspects that hyper- Wide-complex ventricular rhythm
kalemia is the cause of cardiac arrest in a patient and tall, peaked T waves
brought to the emergency department. Which
finding on a 12-lead ECG would confirm this sus-
picion?
4. A patient's ECG reveals a tachyarrhythmia. The 1. "I've had a terrible cold with a
patient is hemodynamically stable and has a horrible cough and today I devel-
heart rate ranging from 120 to 135 beats per oped a fever."
minute. Based on the findings of the secondary 2. "I've been so anxious lately be-
assessment, which statement(s) by the patient cause I just lost my job."
would the team interpret as a possible contribut- 3. "I've been vomiting for the past 2
ing cause? days from a gastrointestinal bug."
5. A patient's ECG reveals a narrow QRS complex Vagal maneuvers
with a regular rhythm, indicating a narrow-com-
plex supraventricular tachyarrhythmia. The pa-
, ALS/ACLS - Red Cross Final Exam [2023]
tient is not showing signs of hemodynamic com-
promise. Which intervention would be initiated
first if it does not delay other interventions?
6. A patient in the telemetry unit is stable. Cardiac Synchronized cardioversion
monitoring indicates the patient has ventricular
tachycardia with a pulse. Further assessment re-
veals that the corrected QT interval is greater
than 0.46 seconds. Which treatment would be
appropriate at this time?
7. An ECG strip of a patient in the emergency de- Absence of discrete P waves and
partment reveals the following rhythm. Which presence of irregularly irregular
feature would the healthcare provider interpret QRS complexes
as indicating atrial fibrillation?
8. A patient is brought into the emergency depart- Ventricular tachycardia
ment. The patient does not have a pulse. The
cardiac monitor shows the following rhythm. The
team interprets this as which condition?
9. A patient with acute renal failure experiences Hyperkalemia
cardiac arrest. Just before the cardiac arrest, the
patient's ECG showed peaked T waves. What
might be causing the patient's cardiac arrest?
10. A member of the resuscitation team is preparing 120 to 200 joules
to defibrillate a patient in cardiac arrest using a
biphasic defibrillator. The team member would
set the energy dose according to the manufac-
turer's recommendations, which is usually:
11. 10 to 20 mL
1. A patient with dyspnea and a change in men- Atropine 1 mg every 3 to 5 minutes
tal status arrives at the emergency department.
The healthcare team completes the necessary
assessments and begins to care for the patient,
including initiating cardiac monitoring, pulse
oximetry, supplemental oxygen and vascular ac-
cess. The team reviews the patient's ECG rhythm
strip, as shown in the following figure. Which
agent would the team most likely administer?
2. A patient with bradycardia and signs of hemo- Epinephrine or dopamine infusion
dynamic compromise does not respond to at- Transcutaneous pacing
ropine. Which interventions could the healthcare
provider use next?
3. The resuscitation team suspects that hyper- Wide-complex ventricular rhythm
kalemia is the cause of cardiac arrest in a patient and tall, peaked T waves
brought to the emergency department. Which
finding on a 12-lead ECG would confirm this sus-
picion?
4. A patient's ECG reveals a tachyarrhythmia. The 1. "I've had a terrible cold with a
patient is hemodynamically stable and has a horrible cough and today I devel-
heart rate ranging from 120 to 135 beats per oped a fever."
minute. Based on the findings of the secondary 2. "I've been so anxious lately be-
assessment, which statement(s) by the patient cause I just lost my job."
would the team interpret as a possible contribut- 3. "I've been vomiting for the past 2
ing cause? days from a gastrointestinal bug."
5. A patient's ECG reveals a narrow QRS complex Vagal maneuvers
with a regular rhythm, indicating a narrow-com-
plex supraventricular tachyarrhythmia. The pa-
, ALS/ACLS - Red Cross Final Exam [2023]
tient is not showing signs of hemodynamic com-
promise. Which intervention would be initiated
first if it does not delay other interventions?
6. A patient in the telemetry unit is stable. Cardiac Synchronized cardioversion
monitoring indicates the patient has ventricular
tachycardia with a pulse. Further assessment re-
veals that the corrected QT interval is greater
than 0.46 seconds. Which treatment would be
appropriate at this time?
7. An ECG strip of a patient in the emergency de- Absence of discrete P waves and
partment reveals the following rhythm. Which presence of irregularly irregular
feature would the healthcare provider interpret QRS complexes
as indicating atrial fibrillation?
8. A patient is brought into the emergency depart- Ventricular tachycardia
ment. The patient does not have a pulse. The
cardiac monitor shows the following rhythm. The
team interprets this as which condition?
9. A patient with acute renal failure experiences Hyperkalemia
cardiac arrest. Just before the cardiac arrest, the
patient's ECG showed peaked T waves. What
might be causing the patient's cardiac arrest?
10. A member of the resuscitation team is preparing 120 to 200 joules
to defibrillate a patient in cardiac arrest using a
biphasic defibrillator. The team member would
set the energy dose according to the manufac-
turer's recommendations, which is usually:
11. 10 to 20 mL
