Communication with the patient and their family members or close ones has an essential role in patient care. In order to create a feeling of safety, it is important that the patient can speak their native language.
The patient is a one-year-old Elisa who has had a seizure before the ambulance arrives.
Pm: We’re from ambulance service, good afternoon. Where is the patient?
Mum: Good afternoon. She’s in the
living room with her dad.
Pm: For how long has Elisa had this convulsion? Has she had convulsions before?
Dad: She hasn’t had convulsions before. She had a convulsion a while ago and it lasted for two minutes.
Pm: Have you taken her temperature?
Dad: The fever started yesterday. Half an hour ago it was 38,5°C.
Pm: Did Elisa breathe normally during the convulsion?
Dad: Yes, but her arms and legs were twitching.
Pm: Was the twitching symmetrical?
Dad: Yes.
Pm: What were her eyes like?
Dad: Her eyes were rolling and it looked scary.
Pm: Alright. Have you given her any medicine, and if you have; what medicine and at what time?
Dad: We gave her paracetamol at 6pm yesterday.
Pm: Has Elisa vomited after the convulsion?
Dad: No, she hasn’t, but she’s really tired.
Pm: It seems that Elisa has had a febrile convulsion. We’ll give her medicine to bring down the fever.
Dad: Is febrile convulsion dangerous?
Pm: No, it’s not, it’s common among preschool-aged children who have high fever.
Dad: Can it happen again?
Pm: Yes. During the convulsion it is important to make sure that she doesn’t hurt herself and that she can breathe without difficulty.
Dad: Is there something we can do to prevent the convulsion from happening again?
Pm: The most important thing is to prevent the body temperature from rising too much. You shouldn’t use external cooling methods to lower the fever.
Dad: Do we have to call an ambulance again?
Pm: Not necessarily, but if the convulsion lasts more than 15 minutes or if the child is disoriented, in pain, or throws up after the convulsion, you have to contact the emergency clinic. Besides, the first convulsion always requires a visit at the emergency clinic.
Dad: Ok, I understand. Shall we go to the emergency clinic now?
Pm: Yes. It’s good that the emergency doctor examines her.
Emergency Medical Services have been summoned to the home of a 75-year-old man whose overall health is good. The man has started convulsing suddenly and lost consciousness. His wife explains the situation to the paramedic.
W: We had just come back from a walk when my husband suddenly started convulsing.
Pm: For how long did the convulsions last?
W: I can’t tell the exact time, but it felt like a long time.
Pm: What did the convulsions look like?
W: They looked horrible. His whole body was convulsing and he was unresponsive.I tried to cover his head so that he wouldn’t bang it against the door. Then he started convulsing again after a few minutes. After the convulsions were over, I put him in the recovery position.
Pm: Well done, you did exactly the right thing. Has he had convulsions before
W: No, this was the first time.
Pm: Is your husband otherwise healthy?
W: He has high blood pressure.
Pm: Is he on any medication?
W: No, he isn’t.
Pm: Does he use alcohol?
W: He started drinking more when he retired. Nowadays he drinks multiple times a week.
Pm: As he doesn’t have a history of epilepsy, we’ll take him to hospital.
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