what is it? what to do? when to call 911?

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hello. can please someone tell me what is this pt. experiencing..

aaox0 she suddenly became weak, like she's about to die...her eyes is open but she is not responding to us and not moving but her left hand is shaking a little...after a few min...she start vomitting then she became alert but weak....wel called 911 because she unresponsive/unconscious to us and doesn't move but her left hand..but after she vomit she became aaox3....

does this sound like she's going into shock? stroke? MI? please can someone tell me...or help me identified when we should call 911....or what we should do. thanks.

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You already called 911, is that correct?

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yes we did....right after she start trowing up thatsn when she because responsive/alert....so when 911 came thought it was nothing serious...

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Always, Always......call 911 first.

It is difficult to try to figure out what may have happened to the patient. We have no idea what meds the patient is on, what medical history they have, what they looked like at the time.

Where was this patient? In a nursing home? Residential care? Adult Day care? By looking at your past posts, it seems that you work in an adult day care Ir residential care.

There is no medical assistance to help you. Are there any nurses on duty? Never hesitate to call 911......who care if the EMT's think the patient is fine....it's their job to get the patient checked out. They,the EMTs, can't possibly know whether it was nothing by taking the patients blood pressure ......the patient/resident needed to be seen.

The patient could have had a small stroke, it could have been a small seizure, it could have been low blood sugar....the point is the patient had a significant change and was not responsive however brief.......needs to be evaluated.

Never hesitate to call for help. YOu did the right thing by call 911.

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Why did you call 911 after she threw up, and not when she first had an acute change in mentation?

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
hello. can please someone tell me what is this pt. experiencing..

aaox0 she suddenly became weak, like she's about to die...her eyes is open but she is not responding to us and not moving but her left hand is shaking a little...after a few min...she start vomitting then she became alert but weak....wel called 911 because she unresponsive/unconscious to us and doesn't move but her left hand..but after she vomit she became aaox3....

does this sound like she's going into shock? stroke? MI? please can someone tell me...or help me identified when we should call 911....or what we should do. thanks.

A few questions...how did you know this pt? Is she a LTC resident for whom you were caring? A coworker? A friend with whom you were having lunch? Just wondering more out of curiosity that anything else.

As for when to call 911...call with the original change in mental status. At that point we may not know exactly what is going on, but we know something is going on and it is not good. Another question: is "like she is going to die" something she said about her weakness or is this your interpretation of her weakness? If your words, what does this mean? (again, more curious then anything else)

As for what happened to the pt, it is tough to tell with just the information we have at this point. Possibilities: MI with a degree of cardiogenic shock, early septic shock (did she show any signs of an infection before this episode?), TIA/stroke. This is not an exhaustive list...there are many more possibilities. My best guess would be some type of a brain bleed...this would be the most likely of choices given the combination of weakness and emesis. If you have any type of followup on the case, let us know.

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Specializes in Emergency.
yes we did....right after she start trowing up thatsn when she because responsive/alert....so when 911 came thought it was nothing serious...

Like the others have said, the call to EMS was well-warranted with her change in mentation, etc.

I wasn't there to see how the EMTs responded, but just wanted to offer a suggestion if they didn't seem like the hyped-up trauma-junkies on TV. They may have not disregarded the seriousness of the complaint at all, but I would hope were diligently and efficiently progressing the patient towards the ambulance. For example, my partner and I are pretty low-key... we really do not get riled up even if half of an arm is missing. But, we move very quickly and get things done. Two reasons for our less-than-excitable "attitude": Calm manner allows for thought; we have a lot of decisions to make in a short period of time and very few patients ever fit protocol. Second reason: If the medics are hyped up, the family will be as well. If we remain calm, professional, but get everything done efficiently, then in most cases, we actually can see the family members assume a more calm attitude as well. Remember... they usually head to the hospital in their own vehicle. A calmer driver is a safer driver.

Most of our interventions are done as soon as we hop into the ambulance and while enroute to the hospital. If she was my patient, VS, O2, IV, blood draw, ECG with 12-lead, neuro assessment, radio report, etc. would have all been done bouncing down the road towards definitive care. My protocols allow for that. I've had family member faint while watching procedures occur in the house; I try to avoid that scenario of creating more patients, lol!

On the other hand, if I had an EMT partner who truly disregarded the potential seriousness of these signs and just blow off what recently happened to the patient, I'd ask him where the he** he hides the CT scanner and lab in the ambulance?!? The verbal education would not stop there...

Hope it helps!

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Honestly, this sounds exactly like a pt I took care of that had bacterial meningitis. It presented very similarly to a CVA.

But of course, there's all sorts of stuff to rule out, especially CVA, septic shock, etc. 911 definitely should have been called with the first change in mentation. Never, ever wait to call EMS for that.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Call the doctor, call 911. No one can diagnose over the computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I think that calling 911 should always be the first response to any change In a patients condition The EMTs are to transport the patient for evaluation......not give commentary on the appropriatness of the call.

We cannot possibly know what may have happened as we cannot give medical advice or diagnosis on the computer.

OP always call 911 when something happens....thread closed

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