EMT Challenge Cases
CASE: MISPLACED PANIC
S: Bob's wife calls 911 in a panic stating that her husband had just come in from working on the yard and began to have what he referred to as an allergy attack. He began breathing with extreme difficulty and, when his allergy medications (inhaler and Allegra) didn't help, she called 911. Bob is a 67 year old male with a history of COPD and heavy smoking. When you arrive, you find him sitting on his recliner breathing very labored.
O: He is very pale and cyanotic looking. Blood pressure 260/190. Pulse 188. Breathing labored. Spontaneous eye opening. Pupils equal and reactive. Lungs sounds wet. You can hear gurgling sounds in his chest associated with breathing without using the stethoscope. With great difficulty he tries to state it's an anxiety attack and needs a bag to breathe in to make it go away. He suddenly becomes incontinent.
How would you handle this patient?
