Paramedic Comprehensive Final Exam Practice Questions with Accurate Answers

Following blunt trauma to the anterior chest, a 44-year-old woman presents with restlessness, respiratory distress, perioral cyanosis, and tachycardia. Further assessment reveals a midline trachea, engorged jugular veins, and absent breath sounds on the right side of her chest. You should: - ANSWERSperform an immediate needle thoracentesis to the right side of the chest. A 40-year-old man presents with difficulty urinating, fever, and tremors. Which of the following should you suspect? - ANSWERSProstatitis A 45-year-old unrestrained man was ejected from his small truck when it struck a tree. The patient is found approximately 20 feet from the wreckage. Your primary assessment reveals that he is unresponsive and has sonorous respirations and a rapid pulse. Your initial actions should include: - ANSWERSmanually stabilizing his head and opening his airway with the jaw-thrust maneuver. A 60-year-old man with crushing chest pain has 3 mm of ST elevation in leads V1 through V4. What should you suspect? - ANSWERSLeft anterior descending artery occlusion A patient with a suppressed cough mechanism: - ANSWERSis at serious risk for aspiration. You are caring for a 33-year-old woman who is 35 weeks pregnant and fell down a flight of stairs. Full spinal precautions have been taken, the patient is receiving high-flow oxygen, and a patent IV line is in place. During transport, you reassess her and note that she has become diaphoretic, tachycardic, and tachypneic. You should: - ANSWERStilt the backboard to the left side. Which of the following is the MOST important consideration during a pandemic? - ANSWERSPersonal protective equipment The door-to-balloon time for a patient with an ST elevation myocardial infarction is ___ minutes or less. - ANSWERS90 When attempting resuscitation of a child with pulseless electrical activity, you should: - ANSWERSattempt to identify an underlying cause of the arrest. Which of the following clinical findings would MOST likely differentiate a massive hemothorax from a tension pneumothorax? - ANSWERSHemoptysis Which of the following clinical findings is the MOST consistent with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? - ANSWERSUnexplained syncope A 41-year-old woman attempted to kill herself by cutting her wrists. Law enforcement personnel are at the scene. You have controlled the bleeding with direct pressure and a pressure bandage. The patient's vital signs are stable and she is conscious and alert; however, she refuses to go to the hospital. Despite pleas from her family to go to the hospital, she still refuses. You should: - ANSWERSremain with the patient, contact medical control, and request law enforcement intervention. Any time a patient with end-stage renal disease is found in cardiac arrest, the paramedic should strongly consider which of the following as the cause? - ANSWERSKyperkalemia Which of the following statements regarding Grey Turner sign is correct? - ANSWERSGrey Turner sign is characterized by flank bruising and indicates internal bleeding. Following decontamination, a patient is presented to you by rescue personnel for transport. The patient is conscious and alert, and is in no obvious respiratory distress. The patient is emitting a pungent odor and has an orange chemical on her clothing. You should: - ANSWERSadvise the rescuers that the patient has not been adequately decontaminated. Epiglottitis in children: - ANSWERSis uncommon because children are vaccinated against Haemophilus influenza type b. A young woman experienced massive facial trauma after being ejected from her car when it struck a tree. She is semiconscious, has blood draining from her mouth, and has poor respiratory effort. The MOST appropriate initial airway management for this patient involves: - ANSWERSsuctioning her airway until it is clear of blood and other secretions, administering a sedative and paralytic, and performing endotracheal intubation. Two MOST important underlying principles of National Incident Management System are: - ANSWERSflexibility and standardization. The killing of pathogenic agents by directly applying a chemical made for that purpose is called: - ANSWERSdisinfection. You are dispatched to the residence of a 19-year-old man who has a tracheostomy tube and is on a mechanical ventilator. According to the patient's mother, he began experiencing difficulty breathing about 30 minutes ago. Auscultation of his lungs reveals bilaterally diminished breath sounds, and his oxygen saturation is 80%. You disconnect the patient from the mechanical ventilator and begin bag-mask ventilations; however, you meet significant resistance. You should: - ANSWERSremove the bag-mask device and suction his tracheostomy tube.