EMT Medical Practice Test 1

Food poisoning may be difficult to diagnose in the field due to its broad range of symptoms and the time it takes to make the patient ill. All of the following are types of food-borne illnesses except which one?

You arrive on the scene at a private residence to find a patient with an altered mental status. You quickly scan the home. Which of the following items will help point you in the right direction to find the cause of the altered mental status?

Your patient is not responding to loud verbal stimuli. You find the following medications: Glucophage and Lipitor. What is the likely cause of the patient’s unresponsiveness?

Your neuro assessment of an unresponsive patient reveals pin point pupils. What is your primary field diagnosis?

Your patient is a known diabetic who takes up to four insulin injections a day. Today he is found unresponsive, diaphoretic, and tachycardic, with a respiratory rate of 18.

What is likely the patient’s chief medical problem?

You find that your diabetic patient is hypoglycemic. You have oral glucose to administer to the patient. You will give 15 grams of glucose to the patient except if they are ___________?

Which of the following is an often fatal complication of diabetes and is also the first indication of diabetes in many young patients?

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) has the following signs and symptoms:

Acetone on breath, dry skin, poor skin turgor, altered mental status, confusion, thirst, and frequent urination.

What other symptoms are associated with DKA?

There are two types of cerebral vascular accidents (strokes). The most common is an ischemic stroke. What is the other type?

For a condition to be diagnosed as a transient ischemic attack (TIA), the symptoms must be resolved in 24 hours ______________?

There are two major assessment tools: the Cincinnati Stroke Scale and the Los Angeles Prehospital Stroke Screen. Which one of these two tools uses arm drift as a diagnostic tool?

Stroke symptoms often present the same as other medical problems. Working through the differentials is a must to prevent improper treatment for the signs and symptoms.

Hypoglycemia is often mistaken for a CVA.

How can an EMT rule in or out this differential?

Statements from patients are used as assessment tools. Which of the following statements about stroke symptoms should cause the EMT to use a higher index of suspicion?

A medical condition where the patient sometimes suffers convulsions or seizure activity is known as what?

When assessing a patient complaining of depression, which of the following would be most suggestive that the patient is at risk for suicide?