You are assessing a young child who was briefly submerged after falling approximately 20 feet from an observation platform into the shallow portion of a lake. Family members jumped into the lake immediately and pulled the girl to safety. She is confused and begins to vomit profuse amounts of water. What should you do immediately?
A) Suction using a rigid-tip catheter, while maintaining manual spine motion restriction precautions
B) Place the patient in a side-lying position and tell her to "vomit all the water out"
C) Check the patient's breath sounds with a stethoscope to determine whether she aspirated any water
D) Perform the head-tilt, chin-lift maneuver and use the flexible catheter to suction out the water while maintaining spine motion restriction precautions
A) Suction using a rigid-tip catheter, while maintaining manual spine motion restriction precautions
You might also like to view...
A CBC is performed on a polycythemic patient. What must the laboratician do to ensure that this specimen has an optimal blood smear?
a. Increase the angle of the spreader slide b. Decrease the angle of the spreader slide c. Not change the angle of the spreader slide d. Stain with albumin
A vehicle has been struck in its front end by another car. The driver is entrapped and the roof must be rolled back to allow extrication. The car has been appropriately stabilized and you are inside with the patient. The primary assessment is complete and a cervical collar applied. Rescue personnel are ready to begin cutting the vehicle. At this time, the appropriate action is to:
A) place a tarp over the patient. B) stabilize the vehicle. C) apply a short vest-type extrication device. D) remove the windshield.