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Referencing the content of EMT-Basic training and emergency patient care

EMT Basic · Chapter 35

Pediatric Emergencies

Learning objectives (31)

  1. Demonstrate how to assist ventilation of an infant or child using a bag-mask device — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  2. Demonstrate how to perform one-person bag-mask ventilation on a pediatric patient. (p 1318, Skill Drill 35-4) 9. Demonstrate how to perform two-person bag-mask ventilation on a ped — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  3. Demonstrate how to position the airway in a pediatric patient. (p 1298, Skill Drill 35-1) 2. Demonstrate how to palpate the pulse and estimate the capillary refill time in a pediat — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  4. Demonstrate how to use a length-based resus- citation tape to size equipment appropriately for a pediatric patient — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  5. Describe asthma, its possible causes, signs, and symptoms, and the steps in the manage- ment of a pediatric patient who is experiencing an asthma attack — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  6. Describe child abuse and neglect and its pos- sible indicators, including the medical and legal responsibilities of EMTs when caring for a pe- diatric patient who is a possible vic — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  7. Describe the emergency care of a pediatric pa- tient who is dehydrated, including how to gauge the severity of dehydration based on key signs and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  8. Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who has been poisoned, including com- mon sources of poisoning, signs, and symp- toms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  9. Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who has experienced a drowning emer- gency, including common causes, signs, and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  10. Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who is experiencing a fever emergency, including common causes — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  11. Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who is experiencing a gastrointestinal emergency, including common causes, signs, and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  12. Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who is in shock (hypoperfusion), includ- ing common causes, signs, and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  13. Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient with an altered mental status, includ- ing common causes, signs, and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  14. Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient with meningitis, including common causes, signs, symptoms, and special precau- tions — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  15. Discuss brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE), sudden unexpected infant death, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), including its risk factors, patient assessment, and spe- c — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  16. Discuss some positive ways EMTs may cope with the death of a pediatric patient and why managing posttraumatic stress is important for all health care professionals — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  17. Discuss the common causes of pediat- ric trauma emergencies; include how to differentiate between injury patterns in adults, infants, and children — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  18. Discuss the physical and cognitive devel- opmental stages of a preschool-age child, including health risks, signs that may in- dicate illness, and patient assessment — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  19. Discuss the physical and cognitive develop- mental stages of a school-age child, including health risks, signs that may indicate illness, and patient assessment — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  20. Discuss the physical and cognitive develop- mental stages of an adolescent, including health risks, patient assessment, and privacy issues — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  21. Discuss the physical and cognitive developmental stages of a toddler, including health risks, signs that may indicate illness, and patient assessment — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  22. Discuss the physical and cognitive developmental stages of an infant, including health risks, signs that may indicate illness, and patient assessment — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  23. Discuss the responsibilities of EMTs when communicating with a family or loved ones fol- lowing the death of a child — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  24. Discuss the significance of burns in pediat- ric patients, their most common causes, and general guidelines EMTs should follow when assessing patients who have sustained burns — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  25. Explain how to determine the correct size of an airway adjunct intended for a pediatric patient during an emergency — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  26. Explain some of the challenges inherent in providing emergency care to pediatric patients and why effective communication with both the patient and his or her family members is cri — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  27. Explain the four triage categories used in the JumpSTART system for pediatric patients during disaster management — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
  28. Explain the steps in the primary assessment of a pediatric patient, including the elements of the pediatric assessment triangle (PAT), hands-on XABCs, transport decision considerat — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  29. Explain the steps in the secondary assessment of a pediatric patient, including what EMTs should look for related to different body areas and the method of injury — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  30. List the different oxygen delivery devices that are available for providing oxygen to a pediatric patient, including the indications for the use of each and precautions EMTs must t — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
  31. List the possible causes of an upper and a lower airway obstruction in a pediatric patient and the steps in the management of foreign body airway obstruction — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.

Vocabulary (11)

Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT)
A rapid across-the-room impression of a child's status based on three sides — Appearance, Work of Breathing, and Circulation to skin.
Bronchiolitis
A common viral lower-respiratory infection of infants and young children, often caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), producing wheezing and respiratory distress.
Croup
A viral upper-airway infection in young children characterized by a barking cough, hoarseness, and inspiratory stridor.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
The sudden, unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant under 1 year old that remains unexplained after a thorough investigation.
Febrile seizure
A seizure in a young child triggered by a rapid rise in body temperature, usually brief and generally benign with normal neurological recovery.
Brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE)
A sudden, brief episode in an infant under 1 year involving a change in breathing, color, muscle tone, or responsiveness that has fully resolved by evaluation.
Capillary refill time
The time required for color to return to a blanched fingertip or nail bed after pressure is released — over 2 seconds suggests poor perfusion in children.
Anterior fontanelle
The diamond-shaped soft spot on the top of an infant's skull where the bones have not yet fused; typically closes by 18 months.
Length-based resuscitation tape
A color-coded measuring tape (e.g., Broselow) used to estimate a child's weight and recommended drug doses and equipment sizes based on body length.
Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale
An adaptation of the Glasgow Coma Scale for infants and young children that adjusts the verbal score for pre-verbal communication.
resources/pediatric
spinal-cord-injury-facts/. Accessed

Sequence practice (2 puzzles on Quiz Me)

Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT)

Order the three sides of the across-the-room PAT.

  1. Appearance (mental status, tone, interactiveness)
  2. Work of breathing (rate, effort, position, sounds)
  3. Circulation to skin (color, mottling, cyanosis)
Conscious infant with severe choking

Order the BLS sequence for a conscious infant with a complete obstruction.

  1. Confirm severe obstruction (no cry, no effective cough)
  2. Support the head and lay the infant face-down along your forearm
  3. Deliver 5 back slaps between the shoulder blades
  4. Turn and deliver 5 chest thrusts on the sternum
  5. Repeat back slaps and chest thrusts until expelled or unresponsive

Quick fire sample (10 of 10 on Quiz Me)

A rapid across-the-room impression of a child's status based on three sides — Appearance, Work of Breathing, and Circulation to skin.
  1. Length-based resuscitation tape
  2. Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT)
  3. Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale
  4. Croup
A common viral lower-respiratory infection of infants and young children, often caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), producing wheezing and respiratory distress.
  1. Bronchiolitis
  2. Length-based resuscitation tape
  3. Brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE)
  4. Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT)
A viral upper-airway infection in young children characterized by a barking cough, hoarseness, and inspiratory stridor.
  1. resources/pediatric
  2. Croup
  3. Febrile seizure
  4. Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT)
The sudden, unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant under 1 year old that remains unexplained after a thorough investigation.
  1. Capillary refill time
  2. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
  3. Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale
  4. Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT)
A seizure in a young child triggered by a rapid rise in body temperature, usually brief and generally benign with normal neurological recovery.
  1. Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT)
  2. Febrile seizure
  3. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
  4. Anterior fontanelle
A sudden, brief episode in an infant under 1 year involving a change in breathing, color, muscle tone, or responsiveness that has fully resolved by evaluation.
  1. Brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE)
  2. Capillary refill time
  3. Croup
  4. Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale
The time required for color to return to a blanched fingertip or nail bed after pressure is released — over 2 seconds suggests poor perfusion in children.
  1. resources/pediatric
  2. Length-based resuscitation tape
  3. Capillary refill time
  4. Brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE)
The diamond-shaped soft spot on the top of an infant's skull where the bones have not yet fused; typically closes by 18 months.
  1. Capillary refill time
  2. Bronchiolitis
  3. Anterior fontanelle
  4. Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale
A color-coded measuring tape (e.g., Broselow) used to estimate a child's weight and recommended drug doses and equipment sizes based on body length.
  1. Length-based resuscitation tape
  2. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
  3. Capillary refill time
  4. Anterior fontanelle
An adaptation of the Glasgow Coma Scale for infants and young children that adjusts the verbal score for pre-verbal communication.
  1. Bronchiolitis
  2. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
  3. Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale
  4. Anterior fontanelle

Some topics in this course differ across field references. See when sources disagree on Quiz Me before you teach from this sheet alone.

Full scored drills are on Quiz Me at /courses/nm-emt-b/chapters/35/print/. Answers are not marked on this sheet.