Your friend, who is a paramedic, is describing an emergency call he was on last weekend. He tells you that he cared for a 78-year-old woman who had slipped while getting out of her bathtub and had been lying on a tile floor for almost 24 hours. When your friend arrived he found the woman confused and cold to the touch. Although it was 80 degrees outside, the temperature in the apartment was only 68 because she had her air conditioner running on high. Based on your OEC training, you recognize that this patient was probably suffering from:
a. hypothermia caused by a medical condition.
b. generalized hyperthermia caused by evaporation.
c. hypothermia due to heat loss caused by conduction.
d. localized hypothermia caused by immobility.
Question 2Which of the following statements about immersion hypothermia is false?
a. A patient pulled from cold water should be moved to a warm environment immediately.
b. Immersion hypothermia typically does not occur until the water temperature is below 35F.
c. Adults typically can withstand exposure to colder water for a longer period of time than can children.
d. It is important to remove the clothes of a patient exposed to cold water as soon as possible.
Question 3Which of the following signs would you observe earliest in a hypothermic patient?
a. Confusion
b. Hypotension
c. Shivering
d. Bradycardia
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