AEMCA AEMCA - Advanced Emergency Medical Care Assistant Neurological Emergencies Questions and Answers

Question 1

A patient presents with sudden onset of severe headache described as 'the worst headache of my life.' What condition should you suspect first?

Accepted Answer

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Answer

Tension headache

Answer

Migraine with aura

Answer

Hypertensive urgency

Question 2

When using the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale, which THREE components are assessed?

Accepted Answer

Facial droop, arm drift, and speech

Answer

Pupil response, grip strength, and gait

Answer

Blood pressure, heart rate, and GCS

Answer

Visual fields, reflexes, and coordination

Question 3

A postictal patient becomes increasingly unresponsive 20 minutes after a witnessed tonic-clonic seizure. What is the most concerning possibility?

Accepted Answer

Status epilepticus

Answer

Normal postictal state

Answer

Todd's paralysis

Answer

Vagal syncope

Question 4

Which finding on pupil assessment is most consistent with herniation syndrome in a head-injured patient?

Accepted Answer

Unilateral dilated and fixed pupil

Answer

Bilateral pinpoint pupils

Answer

Bilateral dilated reactive pupils

Answer

Anisocoria with equal reactivity

Question 5

A patient with known epilepsy is having a generalized tonic-clonic seizure lasting more than 5 minutes. What is the first-line prehospital pharmacological intervention?

Accepted Answer

IM or IV benzodiazepine

Answer

IV phenytoin

Answer

IV phenobarbital

Answer

Intranasal ketamine

Question 6

Which Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score indicates severe traumatic brain injury requiring aggressive airway management?

Accepted Answer

GCS ≤ 8

Answer

GCS 13–15

Answer

GCS 9–12

Answer

GCS 6–9