Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Intermediate Practice Exam

You are dispatched to an assisted-living center for a 67-year-old male with "mental status changes." Upon arrival, he is only responsive to painful stimuli and exhibits rapid and shallow breathing along with a slow radial pulse. What is your best immediate action?

1. Begin assisting the patient's ventilations

2. Administer oxygen via nasal cannula

3. Check for a pulse regularly

4. Perform a secondary assessment

The correct answer is: Begin assisting the patient's ventilations

In this scenario, the patient's presentation of mental status changes, being unresponsive except to painful stimuli, rapid and shallow breathing, and a slow radial pulse indicates a potential respiratory failure or compromised airway. The priority in emergency care when a patient exhibits such symptoms is to ensure adequate ventilation and oxygenation. Assisting the patient's ventilations is crucial because rapid and shallow breathing often leads to inadequate gas exchange, resulting in hypoxia and hypercapnia. By providing positive pressure ventilation, you can help maintain or improve the patient’s oxygen levels and remove carbon dioxide, which is essential for preventing further deterioration of their condition. While administering oxygen via nasal cannula or performing a secondary assessment can also be important later, they do not address the immediate need for assistance with breathing. Monitoring the pulse regularly is part of ongoing evaluation but is secondary to the immediate threat posed by the patient's inadequate respiratory effort. The most critical action in this situation is to ensure the patient is receiving enough air to breathe adequately.