Trauma Emergencies Flashcards
6 cards from real CEN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Trauma Emergencies flashcards as text
During the primary survey of a trauma patient, which step follows airway management?
Answer: Breathing and ventilation
The ATLS primary survey follows A-B-C-D-E: Airway → Breathing → Circulation → Disability → Exposure.
A patient arrives after a motor vehicle accident. He is hypotensive with a distended abdomen and a seatbelt sign. What is the most appropriate rapid assessment?
Answer: Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST)
FAST exam rapidly detects free intra-abdominal fluid (blood) at the bedside and can immediately guide surgical decision-making in a hemodynamically unstable patient.
What is the initial fluid of choice for hemorrhagic shock in a trauma patient according to current guidelines?
Answer: Packed red blood cells with balanced resuscitation
Current damage control resuscitation guidelines favor early use of packed RBCs in a 1:1:1 ratio with FFP and platelets rather than crystalloid, to restore both volume and coagulation factors.
A trauma patient has a blood pressure of 70/40 mmHg with absent JVD and dullness to percussion at the left lung base. What injury is most likely?
Answer: Hemothorax
Hemothorax presents with hypotension, absent JVD (volume loss), and dullness to percussion due to fluid (blood) in the pleural space.
A patient with a suspected C-spine injury arrives immobilized. NEXUS criteria would allow cervical spine clearance WITHOUT imaging if which criterion is met?
Answer: Patient is alert, not intoxicated, has no distracting injury, no focal neuro deficit, no midline tenderness
NEXUS criteria allow clinical C-spine clearance without imaging if all five criteria are met: alert, no intoxication, no focal neurological deficit, no midline tenderness, and no distracting injuries.
Which type of traumatic brain injury is associated with a 'lucid interval' followed by rapid deterioration?
Answer: Epidural hematoma
Epidural hematoma, usually from a torn middle meningeal artery after temporal bone fracture, classically presents with a brief lucid interval followed by rapid neurological deterioration.