Systematic Approach Flashcard 2

D. Rationale: A trained healthcare provider such as an emergency medical service (EMS) team member, a nurse, or a physician can perform the primary assessment. (The Systematic Approach in ACLS: Primary Assessment)

B. Rationale: The following are the three types of lay rescuers: 1) untrained, 2) trained in chest compression-only CPR, and 3) trained in CPR with chest compressions and ventilations.

C. Rationale: Tension pneumothorax can be due to a traumatic injury or overventilation from positive pressure ventilation. It is one of the Hs and Ts mnemonic for reversible causes of cardiac arrest. Tube thoracostomy or needle thoracostomy is the treatment of choice to relieve the increased air pressure from the intrathoracic cavity.

C. Rationale: Removal of clothing to perform a physical examination, looking for obvious signs of trauma, bleeding, burns, unusual markings, or medical alert bracelets is part of the primary assessment. (Systematic Approach in ACLS: Primary Assessment)

D. Rationale: Nonspecialized regions of the hospitals, such as the general wards, are where most cardiac arrests occur. These areas may lack the skilled personnel and equipment to diagnose and provide immediate and necessary interventions to stabilize a critically ill patient with shock or respiratory failure before going into cardiac arrest.

D. Rationale: The assessment of a suspected cardiac arrest patient is divided into three categories: (1) the BLS assessment, (2) the primary assessment, and (3) the secondary assessment. (The Systematic Approach in ACLS)

C. Rationale: The AHA systems of care concentrates on two aspects: IHCA and OHCA, both of which revolve around the adult chain of survival. The adult chain of survival is a classic framework that is as relevant today as it was 20+ years ago. The chain contains links that ensure early access to EMS, early CPR to support circulation to the heart and brain until normal heart activity is restored, early defibrillation, and early advanced care by EMS and hospital personnel.

B. Rationale: Palliative care is the spectrum of care and support given to patients with a terminal illness at the end of life. The patient is provided with necessary interventions to keep them comfortable, and both the patient and family are given support throughout the dying process.

A. Rationale: It is still the rapid response team’s responsibility to take care of the critically ill patient until the patient has been stabilized. The most crucial time to assess effective interventions is right after treating the patient, and the rapid response team members are the most appropriate for this action because they have provided the necessary emergent stabilization and care. Once stabilized, the patient is admitted to the ICU, where ICU staff take over the monitoring and care of the patient.

C. Rationale: Debriefing after a successful or failed resuscitation is critical for high-performance teams. A hot debriefing is performed right after the resuscitation. The advantage is that the events are still fresh in the team members’ minds. Debriefing is meant to improve the skills of each member and the team by providing instant feedback on performance and issues that need to be improved upon.