Musculoskeletal Trauma Flashcards
7 cards from real TNCC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Musculoskeletal Trauma flashcards as text
Which urinalysis finding most strongly suggests myoglobinuria in a patient with extensive crush injury?
Answer: Dipstick positive for blood with no RBCs on microscopy
Myoglobin causes a false-positive blood result on urine dipstick without corresponding red blood cells on microscopy, distinguishing myoglobinuria from hematuria.
A patient with a long bone fracture develops acute confusion, tachycardia, and fever 24 hours post-injury. Which condition should be highest on the differential?
Answer: Fat embolism syndrome
Fat embolism syndrome typically occurs 24–72 hours after long bone fractures and presents with the triad of respiratory failure, neurologic dysfunction (including confusion), and petechial rash.
When splinting an acute fracture in the emergency setting, what is the primary purpose of padding the splint?
Answer: To prevent pressure injury and accommodate swelling
Padding in splints protects bony prominences from pressure injury and accommodates swelling without creating a constrictive cast that could cause compartment syndrome.
A child presents after falling from a bicycle with a transverse fracture through the growth plate. Using the Salter-Harris classification, which type of growth plate fracture has the WORST prognosis for normal bone growth?
Answer: Type V (crush injury to the growth plate)
Salter-Harris Type V injuries involve axial compression crushing of the growth plate, destroying the germinal cells and carrying the worst prognosis for normal bone growth.
A patient with an isolated tibial fracture develops signs of compartment syndrome with a measured compartment pressure of 32 mmHg. The patient's diastolic blood pressure is 64 mmHg. What is the delta pressure (ΔP) and clinical significance?
Answer: ΔP = 32 mmHg; fasciotomy is indicated because ΔP ≤ 30 mmHg
ΔP = diastolic BP − compartment pressure = 64 − 32 = 32 mmHg; a ΔP ≤ 30 mmHg is the threshold for emergent fasciotomy.
Which mechanism of injury is most commonly associated with a flail chest?
Answer: High-velocity blunt force causing three or more consecutive rib fractures in two or more places
Flail chest results from at least three consecutive ribs fractured in two or more places, creating a free-floating segment that moves paradoxically with respiration.
A patient with a suspected pelvic fracture and hemodynamic instability despite initial resuscitation should receive which definitive hemorrhage control intervention?
Answer: Pelvic binder application and emergent angioembolization
Application of a pelvic binder provides immediate tamponade of pelvic bleeding, while angioembolization is the definitive intervention for arterial hemorrhage in hemodynamically unstable pelvic fractures.