TOXICOLOGY PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. Substance abuse is MOST accurately defined as:
A. knowingly selling illicit drugs in order to buy more drugs.
B. willfully using a therapeutic drug to treat a medical illness.
C. unwillingly and unknowingly consuming drugs or alcohol.
D. knowingly misusing a substance to produce a desired effect. - Answers :D
2. The EMT's primary responsibility to the patient who has been poisoned is to:
A. administer the appropriate antidote.
B. recognize that a poisoning occurred.
C. administer 25 g of activated charcoal.
D. contact poison control immediately. - Answers :B
3. Which of the following drugs is NOT a sedative-hypnotic?
A. secobarbital (Seconal)
B. diazepam (Valium)
C. cocaine
D. flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) - Answers :C
4. Your paramedic partner administers atropine to a 49-year-old male with bradycardia.
Which of the following side effects would you expect the patient to experience?
A. pupillary constriction
B. excessive lacrimation
C. a fall in blood pressure
D. dry mucous membranes - Answers :D
5. Which of the following questions would be of LEAST pertinence during the initial
questioning of a patient who ingested a substance?
A. How much of the substance was taken?
B. How long ago was it taken?
C. What type of substance was taken?
D. Why was the substance ingested? - Answers :D
6. A poison that enters the body by __________ is the MOST difficult to treat.
A. injection
B. ingestion
C. inhalation
D. absorption - Answers :A
7. The poison control center will be able to provide you with the most information
regarding the appropriate treatment for a patient with a drug overdose if the center:
A. knows the location of the closest hospital.
B. is aware of the patient's age and gender.
C. is aware of the substance that is involved.
D. knows why the patient overdosed on the drug. - Answers :C
, 8. Heroin is an example of a(n):
A. opioid.
B. hypnotic.
C. cholinergic.
D. sympathomimetic. - Answers :A
9. Hypotension, hypoventilation, and pinpoint pupils would be expected following an
overdose of:
A. ecstasy.
B. oxycodone (Percocet).
C. amphetamine sulfate (Benzedrine).
D. crack cocaine. - Answers :B
10. Signs and symptoms of a sympathomimetic drug overdose include:
A. sedation.
B. tachycardia.
C. hypotension.
D. slurred speech. - Answers :B
11. Which of the following statements regarding inhaled poisons is correct?
A. Lung damage may progress after the patient is removed from the environment.
B. Carbon monoxide is very irritating to the upper airway and may cause swelling.
C. Burns around the eyes are the most common indication of an inhalation poisoning.
D. Chlorine is a colorless and odorless gas that causes hypoxia and pulmonary edema.
- Answers :A
12. Your priority in caring for a patient with a surface contact poisoning is to:
A. move the patient to a safe area.
B. avoid contaminating yourself.
C. decontaminate the patient's skin.
D. obtain and maintain a patent airway. - Answers :B
13. Phosphorus or elemental sodium should be brushed off of the skin instead of
irrigated with water because:
A. water makes these chemicals impossible to remove.
B. severe swelling will occur when mixed with water.
C. this will eliminate the chances of you being exposed.
D. these chemicals may ignite upon contact with water. - Answers :D
14. Most poisonings occur via the __________ route.
A. ingestion
B. injection
C. inhalation
D. absorption - Answers :A
1. Substance abuse is MOST accurately defined as:
A. knowingly selling illicit drugs in order to buy more drugs.
B. willfully using a therapeutic drug to treat a medical illness.
C. unwillingly and unknowingly consuming drugs or alcohol.
D. knowingly misusing a substance to produce a desired effect. - Answers :D
2. The EMT's primary responsibility to the patient who has been poisoned is to:
A. administer the appropriate antidote.
B. recognize that a poisoning occurred.
C. administer 25 g of activated charcoal.
D. contact poison control immediately. - Answers :B
3. Which of the following drugs is NOT a sedative-hypnotic?
A. secobarbital (Seconal)
B. diazepam (Valium)
C. cocaine
D. flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) - Answers :C
4. Your paramedic partner administers atropine to a 49-year-old male with bradycardia.
Which of the following side effects would you expect the patient to experience?
A. pupillary constriction
B. excessive lacrimation
C. a fall in blood pressure
D. dry mucous membranes - Answers :D
5. Which of the following questions would be of LEAST pertinence during the initial
questioning of a patient who ingested a substance?
A. How much of the substance was taken?
B. How long ago was it taken?
C. What type of substance was taken?
D. Why was the substance ingested? - Answers :D
6. A poison that enters the body by __________ is the MOST difficult to treat.
A. injection
B. ingestion
C. inhalation
D. absorption - Answers :A
7. The poison control center will be able to provide you with the most information
regarding the appropriate treatment for a patient with a drug overdose if the center:
A. knows the location of the closest hospital.
B. is aware of the patient's age and gender.
C. is aware of the substance that is involved.
D. knows why the patient overdosed on the drug. - Answers :C
, 8. Heroin is an example of a(n):
A. opioid.
B. hypnotic.
C. cholinergic.
D. sympathomimetic. - Answers :A
9. Hypotension, hypoventilation, and pinpoint pupils would be expected following an
overdose of:
A. ecstasy.
B. oxycodone (Percocet).
C. amphetamine sulfate (Benzedrine).
D. crack cocaine. - Answers :B
10. Signs and symptoms of a sympathomimetic drug overdose include:
A. sedation.
B. tachycardia.
C. hypotension.
D. slurred speech. - Answers :B
11. Which of the following statements regarding inhaled poisons is correct?
A. Lung damage may progress after the patient is removed from the environment.
B. Carbon monoxide is very irritating to the upper airway and may cause swelling.
C. Burns around the eyes are the most common indication of an inhalation poisoning.
D. Chlorine is a colorless and odorless gas that causes hypoxia and pulmonary edema.
- Answers :A
12. Your priority in caring for a patient with a surface contact poisoning is to:
A. move the patient to a safe area.
B. avoid contaminating yourself.
C. decontaminate the patient's skin.
D. obtain and maintain a patent airway. - Answers :B
13. Phosphorus or elemental sodium should be brushed off of the skin instead of
irrigated with water because:
A. water makes these chemicals impossible to remove.
B. severe swelling will occur when mixed with water.
C. this will eliminate the chances of you being exposed.
D. these chemicals may ignite upon contact with water. - Answers :D
14. Most poisonings occur via the __________ route.
A. ingestion
B. injection
C. inhalation
D. absorption - Answers :A
