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Medical Emergencies Flashcards

7 cards from real FISDAP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Medical Emergencies flashcards as text

  1. A 35-year-old male with a history of depression ingested an unknown quantity of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). He is now unresponsive with a wide QRS complex on ECG. Which treatment is most immediately indicated?

    Answer: Sodium bicarbonate IV to narrow the QRS

    Sodium bicarbonate alkalinizes the blood, reducing TCA binding to sodium channels and narrowing the QRS complex in TCA-induced cardiotoxicity.

  2. You respond to a patient with a history of hypertension presenting with a BP of 220/130 mmHg, headache, and visual disturbances. He has no new neurologic deficits. How should this be classified?

    Answer: Hypertensive urgency

    Hypertensive urgency is severely elevated BP without acute end-organ damage; hypertensive emergency requires evidence of organ damage (e.g., neurologic, cardiac, renal).

  3. A patient with congestive heart failure presents with acute respiratory distress, pink frothy sputum, and crackles bilaterally. SpO2 is 88%. Which intervention provides the most immediate benefit?

    Answer: CPAP at 5–10 cmH2O with high-flow oxygen

    CPAP rapidly reduces preload, improves oxygenation, and decreases the work of breathing in acute pulmonary edema, providing faster benefit than IV medications alone.

  4. Which finding differentiates obstructive shock from cardiogenic shock in a trauma patient?

    Answer: Distended neck veins with absent breath sounds unilaterally

    Obstructive shock from tension pneumothorax or cardiac tamponade presents with distended neck veins; absent unilateral breath sounds specifically indicate tension pneumothorax.

  5. A patient with known epilepsy is post-ictal and unresponsive. His wife states he seized for approximately 3 minutes and then 'stopped.' He is breathing 12/min with SpO2 of 95%. What is the priority intervention?

    Answer: Place in recovery position and monitor airway

    A post-ictal patient who is breathing adequately should be placed in the recovery position to protect the airway from aspiration while being monitored closely.

  6. When assessing a patient for acute abdomen, which finding is MOST concerning for a surgical emergency requiring rapid transport?

    Answer: Rigid abdomen with rebound tenderness

    A rigid abdomen with rebound tenderness indicates peritoneal irritation from perforation or hemorrhage, which requires immediate surgical intervention.

  7. A 45-year-old female presents with tearing chest pain radiating to her back, unequal blood pressures in both arms, and a BP of 190/110 mmHg. What is the most likely diagnosis?

    Answer: Aortic dissection

    Tearing back pain, hypertension, and unequal bilateral arm blood pressures are classic features of aortic dissection due to compromise of arterial branch origins.