Vitals/scenario question

[syd]

I need to come up with a poisoning scenario for my first responder class. It can be any kind of poisoning. I can come up with most of it myself, but I don't know how to make the vitals look correct. Does anyone know where I can find out "expected" vitals for a person suffering from ________? Does anyone have a recent poisoning that they can remember the approx. vitals for? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rgnoon]

It sounds to me that this is part of the point of the assignment. I suggest that you look through your text to determine what occurs to a patient's vital signs when a particular poison is ingested. If you feel that your text does not cover poisoning thoroughly enough, I and a few others, may be able to recommend some publications tha tdo.

 

[OminousFinding]

I'd say a good one for bad Food Poisioning in the late stages (hypovolemic shock) would get you a cool, slightly moist and very pale/cyanotic looking individual with a rapid pulse (110?), respirations of 20, and a falling BP of 98/62.

..At least in my reading of the poisioning chapter of my EMT-B book Those who are more experienced, feel free to chime in.

 

[syd]

topic of assignment

This assignment is more about a presentation on poisonings, as in more of "what do you do" than "what would you find". Hope that kinda clears it up...

 

[OminousFinding]

This assignment is more about a presentation on poisonings, as in more of "what do you do" than "what would you find". Hope that kinda clears it up...

It's hard to know what you need without seeing the specific assignment. Chances are, the information has already been given to you in the text or via lecture. Your job is to make logical sense of it in a superstar presentation.

Off the top of my head, I'd start with the common treatments/interventions regardless of the poisionings -- I.e. checking for scene safety, BSI, managing ABC's, O2 administration, and caring for obvious trauma if it's present. Also, calling for BLS/ALS help and rapid transport to a hospital.

The vitals and accompanying interventions will vary with the poision. If this is a general assignment, come up with the most common poisions (drugs, alcohols, household chemicals, and a few practical examples, and maybe a few obsure poisionings to keep the teacher thinking. Explain how the vitals would present and what you would do for the patient. For a First Responder class, I'd imagine saying "low BP" or "rapid pulse" would be sufficient rather than coming up with numeric examples.