EMT exam practice questions about pediatrics

The practice questions you see here are similar to the EMT exam questions about pediatrics. Read each question carefully, then select the answer option that answers the question correctly.
sample questions

• A 6-year-old female presents sitting upright with difficulty breathing. Her heart rate is 100 and she breathes 22 times per minute. Her skin feels hot, she is pale, and there is an audible squeak. Should

(a) Place it lying down and assist ventilation with a bag valve mask and oxygen.
(b) Providing supplemental oxygen by blowing method.
(C) Assisted ventilation with a bag valve mask.
(d) Examine her mouth with a tongue depressor.

• A 7-year-old has trouble breathing after playing in the schoolyard. He’s alert, frightened, breathing 24 times a minute, and a pulse rate of 130. You notice wheezing in both lung fields. His skin feels warm and sweaty. Should

(a) Assist in administering the multi-dose inhaler prescribed by the patient.
(B) Assisted with the adrenaline auto-injector prescribed to the patient.
(c) Helping the patient to breathe with a bag mask.
(d) Transport immediately and notify the parents on the way.

• A 14-month-old male has difficulty breathing. He cries loudly when you examine him. His skin is pale and dry. His heart rate is 128, and he breathes at a rate of 30 times per minute. Should

(A) Assisted ventilation with a bag valve mask.
(b) The child shall be separated from his parents.
(c) That the parent administer supplemental oxygen using the blowing technique.
(D) Administration of high-flow oxygen via a nonrebreather mask.

• A 20-month-old is unresponsive to your presence. She’s breathing 12 times a minute, and her heart rate is 60. She’s been having trouble breathing for the past 12 hours. Should

(A) Assisted ventilation with a bag valve mask.
(B) Have the parent administer supplemental oxygen using the blowing technique.
(c) Put it in a sitting position and open the airway.
(D) Administration of high-flow oxygen via a nonrebreather mask.

• A 7-month-old female is lazy and cries when she is stimulated. She had a fever and diarrhea and had not eaten or drunk in the last 12 hours. Her heart rate is 150, and she breathes 50 times a minute. you doubt

(a) Shortness of breath.
(b) Respiratory failure.
(c) Compensated shock.
(d) Decompensated trauma.

• A 14-year-old man collapsed after playing football for a few minutes. He is unresponsive and breathes 40 times a minute. His pulse rate is 220, and it is felt only in the carotid artery. His skin is cold and sweaty. you doubt

(a) Sudden dehydration.
(B) Severe hypoglycemia.
(C) arrhythmia.
(D) an asthma attack.

• She evaluates a 5-year-old female in a day care centre. The child has had numerous bouts of ‘space staring’ in the past two hours, lasting a few seconds, followed by confusion and fear. Her vital signs are normal. The staff is unable to reach the parent. Should

(a) Let the child remain in the position until one of the parents takes it.
(B) Transfer to hospital while trying to reach the parent.
(C) Oral glucose administration.
(d) Wait for the parent to be notified.

• A 4-month-old baby is facing in his crib, pulseless and apnea. There appears to be dark bruises on his back and buttocks. The infant is cool to the touch, bluish, and hard. Should

(a) Chest compressions and ventilation begin.
(B) Do nothing and take the infant to the hospital.
(c) Provide emotional support to the family.
(D) Bring the infant to the ambulance and call the police.

• A 4-year-old female is nauseous, vomiting, and has diarrhea lasting 40 minutes. Her last oral intake was lunch an hour earlier. She has cramping and pain across her abdomen. She is warm and dry to the touch. Which of the following is the most likely cause of her presentation?

(A)Appendicitis
(B)Cholecystitis
(C)Food poisoning
(D)Peritonitis

• A child falls off his bicycle at a high rate of speed. He has road rash on his hands, knees, and the left side of his body; a contusion on the left parietal portion of his head; and a deformity to his left shoulder. He is unresponsive and breathing 6 times per minute. His pulse rate is 76. What should you do first?

(A)Splint the injured shoulder.
(B)Assist ventilations with a bag-valve mask at a rate of 20 per minute.
(C)Immobilize the patient to a long backboard.
(D)Provide high-flow oxygen via a nonrebreather mask.

Answers and explanations
B. The scenario suggests epiglottitis, which causes swelling of the soft tissues in the upper airway.
A. The scenario suggests an asthma attack, which may be resolved with the use of the inhaler.
C. The scenario suggests that the patient is in respiratory distress, not failure.
A. The scenario suggests that the patient is in respiratory failure. The slow pulse rate is an ominous sign of impending cardiac arrest. Assisting ventilations, Choice (A), is imperative; supplemental oxygen.
C. She appears to be dehydrated, although her pulse and breathing rate are just beyond the normal limits.
C. The patient’s heart rate is much too fast, and the onset too sudden, for dehydration, Choice (A), to be the cause. His loss of consciousness, along with signs of decompensated shock, make Choices (B) and (D) very unlikely.
B. The scenario suggests a series of generalized absence seizures — no motor activities, but the patient loses consciousness briefly.
C. The infant shows clinical signs of death.
C. Patients with appendicitis, Choice (A), tend to complain about pain around the belly button or in the right lower quadrant. Cholecystitis, Choice (B), is more located in the right upper quadrant. Peritonitis, Choice (D), comes on relatively slowly.
B. The injury to the patient’s head along with the slower heart and breathing rates suggest increased cranial pressure after a blow to the head.