hypothermia and disrhytmias

[emtcutie]

i know by moving oe jostling a patient you can put them into a disrhytmia, but the question on my review is which one... which disarhytmia is most commom in hypothermia patients?

[mobey]

I would be more than happy to answer your question, unfortunatly I cannot understand it through the spelling and grammar errors.

I think in your quest to becoming a SWAT Paramedic, you must learn to present yourself as a professional to the public. This is after all, a public forum.

Here is a link to hypothermia, since I believe that is the topic you are inquiring about.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/770542-overview

Mobey

[Eydawn]

Damn, Mobey! Could ya have been a little harsher there?

Cutie- listen to what he says. I also had to read your post a couple of times to figure out what you were saying... if you don't spell things correctly and write with some semblance of grammar, people will automatically assume that you're stupid. Sucks, but that's the nature of the 'net.

As far as hypothermia and jostling your patient, I believe the answer you are looking for is V-Fib (someone correct me here if I am wrong) because the conduction pathways in the heart go all wonky and the AV node doesn't conduct correctly due to inability to depolarize properly, leading to quivering-bag-o-jello heart. Jostling your patient causes stress and a sympathetic response, which speeds up the heart, which leads to the above mentioned effect.

You said it was for a review sheet- what do your source materials say? What are you studying for?

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[DartmouthDave]

i know by moving oe jostling a patient you can put them into a disrhytmia, but the question on my review is which one... which disarhytmia is most commom in hypothermia patients?

Hello,

Hypothermic patients can go in to Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) if moved too aggressively.

However, this isn't too common in my somewhat related expereince. A certain cohort of patients who code are started on a 'Hypothermia Protocol'. With the goal of decreasing their core body tempature to 32-34C in 4 hours or less.

Now, this is a rapid freeze and the most common problem was Sinus Bradycardia (30-40's). Second, hypotension typically isn't an issue due to the vasoconstriction.

When I worked up North we had a reasonable number of mild to moderate hyopthermia patients as well (34-35C) and the most common problems were bradycaria and pain (when rewarming).

Cheers....

Time to race to work!

Edited December 11, 2010 by DartmouthDave

[DwayneEMTP]

Not to dis Dave, as I'm sure he's likely correct in the population he's discussing, but you're most likely looking for the more common EMT basic answer, and that would be V-Fib as Wendy stated, and to my understanding, for her stated reasons.

Also, Mobey is absolutely correct. You will find that on a professional forum that most often those most qualified to answer your questions will feel that if you can't be bothered to proofread your questions then they will not be bothered to answer them. See?

Mobey was actually doing you a huge favor by pointing out something that most would ignore, he just didn't wrap it in velvet before delivering it to you. But you can handle it.. :-)

Dwayne

[emtcutie]

sorry guys, i was typing that from a phone in 20 degree weather, my hands were somewhat numb. And it was for my als medical care class. The answer was indeed v-fib, which is the one i was thinking but was not 100 percent sure. I asked alot of people and got many answers, which to me is intresting lol. Anyways thanks for the help. I am almost done with the class, my final is thursday, but ive already passed my ivs, intubation, and medical stations, so all thats left is my written final. wish me luck