You Have Been Put in Charge of Creating a Protocol

question 31

Multiple Choice

You have been put in charge of creating a protocol that will direct care provided by EMS. In regards to a drowning patient who is severely hypothermic and in cardiac arrest, what would you propose?

• A) Provide CPR only and withhold the AED.
• B) Withhold resuscitation if the patient's temperature is lower than 86∘F.
• C) Apply the AED and shock once if indicated. Contact medical direction if additional shocks are needed
• D) Administer the usual care provided to any other patient in cardiac arrest.

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Definitions:

Atria Contraction

The process during the cardiac cycle where the atria chambers of the heart contract to move blood into the ventricles.

Pulse Pressure

The difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure, indicating the force that the heart generates each time it contracts.

Ejection Phase

This is the part of the cardiac cycle during which the ventricles contract and pump blood out into the arteries.

Left Ventricle

The heart's compartment that takes in blood rich in oxygen from the left atrium and then pushes it through the aorta to circulate around the body.