Post your assessment in the comment section below, and the person with the best answer will receive one of our exclusive EMS1 Challenge Coins!
The tones sound in your station just as you are beginning your annual training. You are assigned to respond to an unknown medical aid at the elementary school in your district.
As you get into the engine and your operator pulls out of the bay, dispatch provides an update: “Engine 2551, you are responding to Central Elementary, in the principal’s office, for a report of an 8-year-old male complaining of shortness of breath. The caller states that the patient may have an allergy to peanuts.”
The engine comes to a stop in front of the school and you and your crew carry the equipment into the office, following the security guard. You enter the room and are introduced by staff to Stephen who appears to be in obvious respiratory distress and has swelling of his face and neck.
Patient assessment
When you introduce yourself and ask Stephen what happened, you discover that he is having difficulty speaking. You ask him to stick out his tongue and note that it appears swollen.
Your engineer is attempting to take a blood pressure reading but is struggling to obtain one. He states that Stephen’s radial pulse is rapid and weak.
The captain asks the school staff if they know what happened; Stephen’s teacher says that another student brought cookies in for her birthday. Stephen asked if there were peanuts in the cookies and the student said she didn’t know. The teacher did not notice if Stephen ate a cookie but noted that he started having trouble breathing.
As you proceed with the call think about the following questions:
- What are your concerns about this situation?
- What are some potential diagnoses for this patient?
- What are your next steps?
Post your answers below in the comments.
