Updated May 21, 2018
While staffing the first aid station at a local amusement park, you hear your partner speaking to someone in the lobby of the building. A woman’s voice sounds concerned as she talks about her daughter.
Scene observations
Walking out from the clinic area, you see a teenage girl seated in a wheelchair. Her eyes are closed and she is slumped over. Her mother and father are with her, and her father has to hold her up to keep her from falling out of the chair.
As you walk up, you notice that the patient’s shirt is soaked through with sweat and she is making snoring sounds with a respiratory rate of eight per minute. Her skin is pink but clammy to the touch. She has a strong, rapid radial pulse.
You wheel the patient into the clinic and your partner helps lift her to the bed. You partner walks over to obtain a history from the patient’s parents as you start your assessment. There are no obvious signs of trauma. Her pupils are midrange and reactive. Her initial blood pressure is 96/40, with a pulse rate of 100.
Questions:
- What other findings would you look for?
- What conditions could be causing her presentation? What is most likely?
- Let us know in the comments what your assessment would be.
