Question

Your patient is a 15 year old girl who is lying in the left lateral recumbent position on the living room floor. The patient's friend, the only other person in the house, reports that about 15 minutes ago the patient and her were laying on the floor watching television when her friend began to "act funny and flop around." This lasted for about two minutes. The friend reports a second episode, also about two minutes in length, which occurred approximately 10 minutes before your arrival. Your initial assessment reveals the patient is unresponsive, has pulse rate is 98, and a respiration rate of 18. B/P is 108/74. She is breathing deeply and shows no signs of an airway obstruction. Her skin is pink, cool and moist. Based on this information, what type of medical event has most likely occurred?

A. febrile seisure
B. status epilepticus
C. anaphylactic seizures
D. ectopic pregnancy

Answer 1

The 15-year-old girl most likely experienced epileptic seizures, characterized by the described episodes of abnormal behavior and subsequent unresponsiveness, fitting the clinical presentation after such events.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on the information provided, it is most likely that the 15-year-old girl experienced epileptic seizures. The description of her friend 'acting funny and flopping around' for about two minutes suggests seizure activity. After the event, the patient is unresponsive but with a normal pulse and respiration rates, which is not unusual postictally (after a seizure). Given that there were two separate seizure episodes with a period of consciousness in between, this is not consistent with status epilepticus, which is a continuous or rapidly repeating seizure activity without regaining consciousness between seizures. Anaphylactic seizures are not a recognized medical condition, as anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction but does not directly cause seizures. Ectopic pregnancy is highly unlikely given the symptoms described and is generally not associated with seizures. A febrile seizure can occur when there is a high fever, typically in young children, but this does not seem to be the case here, as there are no indicators of fever and the age is not typical for febrile seizur