It is often difficult to distinguish a true medical emergency from a psychiatric emergency. You are confronted with a patient experiencing personality changes ranging from irritability to irrational behavior, altered mental status, amnesia or confusion, irregular respirations, elevated blood pressure, and decreasing pulse. It appears to be a psychiatric emergency. What else could also likely cause this behavior?
A) Stroke B) Lack of oxygen C) Head injury D) Low blood sugar
Question 2
Your patient is a 16-year-old female who has taken an overdose of phenobarbital. She is unresponsive. Her skin is cool and pale, BP = 92/60, HR = 60, RR = 6. You have intubated the patient and started an IV. Which of the following is appropriate?
A) Contact poison controlmay order bicarbonate.
B) Sodium bicarbonate 100 mEq
C) Naloxone 2 mg, 25 gm dextrose, transport
D) 50 gm activated charcoal through an NG tube en route to the hospital
Medical Language Communication
A caduceus, the emblem of the medical profession.
Examples of Emergency Conditions
Medical assistant uses a laptop computer for bedside charting.
Medical assistants can quickly pull up a patient record when a phone call is received.
Emergency crash cart.