Altered Mental Status

What is altered mental status?

• A state in which a person is not knowing of what's going on around them

• A state in which they can answer your A&Ox4 questions

• A state in which they are deemed unconscious

• A state in which they are having a stoke

All of the following can cause someone to be altered EXCEPT:

• pregnancy

• seizure

• poisoning

• head injury

The Glasgow Coma Scale is...

• a tool used to tell ER staff what was done prior to patient arrival

• a tool used to document the level of intervention

• a tool used to describe a patient's level of responsiveness

• a tool used to share with the patient on their condition

What is the highest score for the Glasgow Coma Scale?

• 13

• 10

• 3

• 15

Glasgow Coma Scale measures which of these things?

• level of consciousness, level of altered mental status, oxygen saturation

• level of consciousness by using the acronym FAST

• eye opening response, level of consciousness, pupil reaction

• eye opening response, verbal response, motor response

You know a lot about your patient's altered mental status by...

• talking to the family

• talking to the patient

• your dispatch information

• the nature of the call

A field impression is...

• Is the patient sick or not sick?

• Is the patient conscious or unconscious?

• Does the patient need ALS intervention?

• is the patient able to support their own airway?

When is a full secondary assessment NOT needed?

• When the patient has a specific complaint with potential life threats

• When the patient is conscious with a vague chief complaint

• When the patient is unconscious

• When the patient is experiencing radiating pain

What is a seizure?

• a sudden, abnormal burst of electrical activity in the brain

• a disease of abnormal electrical activity

• A symptom of abnormal electrical activity

• Convulsing of the body

What is the definition of a tonic muscle activity?

• jerking action of the entire body

• uncontrolled muscular movement

• temporary loss of awareness with no body movements

• stiffening of the entire body