EMT Module 5 TRAUMA Quiz Questions

A construction worker's arm was severed just above the elbow when a steel girder fell on it. The stump is covered with a blood-soaked towel. The patient's skin is cool, clammy, and pale. The EMT should:

apply a tourniquet just below the shoulder.

A 17-year-old male was shot in the right anterior chest during an altercation. As your partner is applying oxygen, you perform a rapid assessment and find an open chest wound with a small amount of blood bubbling from it. You should:

apply an occlusive dressing to the wound and continue your assessment.

You are dispatched to a convenience store, where the clerk sustained a laceration to the side of his neck during a robbery attempt. During your assessment, you note bright red blood spurting from the laceration. You should:

apply direct pressure above and below the wound.

A 39-year-old male sustained a large laceration to his leg during an accident with a chainsaw and is experiencing signs and symptoms of shock. You should first:

apply direct pressure to the wound

A 45-year-old male was working on his roof when he fell approximately 12 feet, landing on his feet. He is conscious and alert and complains of an ache in his lower back. He is breathing adequately and has stable vital signs. You should:

immobilize his spine and perform a focused secondary exam.

A 17-year-old female dislocated her patella while playing soccer. Her knee is flexed, and she complains of severe pain. You should:

keep her knee flexed and secure it with padded board splints.

You are dispatched to a local high school track and field event for a 16-year-old male who fainted. The outside temperature is approximately 95°F (35°C) with high humidity. Upon your arrival, the patient is conscious, alert, and complains of nausea and a headache. His skin is cool, clammy, and pale. You should:

move him into the cooled ambulance.

A 4-year-old female has a peanut lodged in the external auditory canal of her right ear. You should:

transport her to the emergency department.

Following a head injury, a 20-year-old female opens her eyes spontaneously, is confused, and obeys your commands to move her extremities. You should assign her a GCS score of:

14

A 21-year-old male was working in an auto repair shop and sustained radiator burns to the anterior aspect of both arms and to his anterior chest. According to the rule of nines, this patient has burns that cover__________ of his body surface area.

18%

A 20-year-old male was accidentally shot in the right upper abdominal quadrant with an arrow during an archery contest. Prior to your arrival, the patient removed the arrow. Your assessment reveals that he is conscious and alert with stable vital signs. The entrance wound is bleeding minimally and appears to be superficial. You should:

Assume that the arrow injured an internal organ

A 33-year-old male sustained an abdominal evisceration to the left lower quadrant of his abdomen after he was cut with a large knife. After appropriately managing his ABCs and assessing him for other life-threatening injuries, how should you care for his wound?

Cover it with moist, sterile gauze and secure with an occlusive dressing.

A 67-year-old male presents with weakness, dizziness, and melena that began approximately two days ago. He denies a history of trauma. His blood pressure is 90/50 mm Hg and his pulse is 120 beats/min and thready. You should be most suspicious that this patient is experiencing:

Gastrointestinal bleeding

A 66-year-old male presents with dark red rectal bleeding and abdominal pain. He is conscious and alert; however, his skin is cool and clammy and his pulse is rapid. Further assessment reveals that his blood pressure is 112/60 mm Hg. Which of the following questions would be most pertinent to ask him?

Have you experienced recent abdominal trauma?

A 70-year-old man presents with a severe nosebleed. His medical history includes chronic obstructive pulmonal disease, depression, and a hemorrhagic stroke three years ago. His BP is 190/110 mm Hg, his pulse is 100 beats/min, and his respirations are 24 breaths/min. His medications include albuterol, sertraline (Zoloft), and multivitamins. Which of the following is most likely causing his nosebleed today?

High blood pressure

In which of the following situations should the EMT splint an injured limb in the position of deformity?

If resistance is encountered or the patient experiences severe pain

You receive a call to a residence for a sick patient. Upon your arrival, you find the patient, a 53-year-old diabetic male, lying down on his front porch. His wife tells you that he was mowing the lawn in the heat for the past three hours. The patient is confused and has hot, moist skin. His pulse is weak and thready, and his blood pressure is 90/50 mm Hg. You should:

Load him into the ambulance and begin rapid cooling interventions

You are dispatched to a residence for a young female who is sick. The patient complains of a rash to her lower extremities and truncal area. Your assessment reveals a small, painful blister on her inner thigh. As your partner is taking the patient's vital signs, she states that she and her family returned from a camping trip two days ago. On the basis of this patient's presentation, you should suspect:

Lyme disease

A patient with a chest injury has a blood pressure of 100/60 mm Hg and a pulse rate of 120 beats/min. Which of the following additional findings should make you suspect a pericardial tamponade?

Repeat BP of 90/68 mm Hg

A 30-year-old female was robbed and assaulted as she was leaving a nightclub. She has massive facial trauma and slow, gurgling respirations. As your partner manually stabilizes her head, you should:

Suction her oropharynx.

You are assessing a 33-year-old male who complains of severe abdominal pain, weakness, and nausea. He tells you that he was gathering wood to build a fire when he felt a sudden, sharp pain on the back of his hand. Your assessment reveals that the patient's abdomen is rigid and painful to palpation. You should suspect:

a black widow spider bite

After being stung on the leg by a jellyfish, a man complains of severe pain to his leg, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. He has a red rash covering his trunk, and his blood pressure is 90/50 mm Hg. The EMT should:

administer oxygen and epinephrine and prepare for rapid transport.

During your assessment of a 29-year-old female with significant deformity to her left elbow, you are unable to palpate a radial pulse. Your transport time to the hospital is approximately 40 minutes. You should:

apply gentle manual traction in line with the limb and reassess for a pulse.

After direct trauma to the left upper back, a 44-year-old male presents with diaphoresis and restlessness. His blood pressure is 100/50 mm Hg, his pulse rate is 120 beats/min and weak, and his respirations are 24 breaths/min and labored. Your assessment reveals abrasions and contusions over the left scapula. You should:

apply high-flow oxygen, consider spinal precautions, and transport without delay.

A 76-year-old male experienced sudden pain to his left thigh when he was standing in line at the grocery store. Your assessment reveals ecchymosis and deformity to the distal aspect of his left femur, just above the knee. Distal circulation and sensory and motor functions are intact. You should:

apply padded board splints to both sides of the leg.

You have applied a dressing and roller-gauze bandage to a laceration on the arm of a young female. During transport, she begins to complain of numbness and tingling in her hand. You should:

assess distal circulation and readjust the bandage as needed.

You receive a call to a local gymnasium for a basketball player with a dislocated shoulder. Upon arrival, you find the patient, a 17-year-old male, sitting on the ground. He is holding his left arm in a fixed position away from his body. There is an obvious anterior bulge to the area of injury. You should:

assess distal pulse, motor, and sensory functions.

A 30-year-old male was rescued after being lost in the woods for approximately 18 hours. The outside temperature is 30°F (-1°C). He is immediately placed in the warmed ambulance, where you perform a primary assessment. He is unresponsive, pale, and apneic. You should:

assess for a carotid pulse for up to 60 seconds.

A young female experienced a laceration to her left eyeball from flying glass when her boyfriend broke a soda bottle against a wall. There is moderate bleeding, and the patient states that she cannot see out of the injured eye. You should:

avoid applying pressure to the globe when you are covering the eye.

A 38-year-old male was electrocuted while attempting to wire a house. Your assessment reveals that he is unresponsive, pulseless, and apneic. A coworker has shut off the power to the house. You should:

begin CPR and apply the AED.

A 21-year-old male was thrown over the handlebars of his motorcycle when he rear-ended a car that was stopped at a red light. He was wearing a helmet, which he removed prior to your arrival. He is conscious but restless and has closed deformities to both of his femurs. His skin is pale, his heart rate is rapid and weak, and his respirations are rapid and shallow. You should:

bind his legs together on the backboard, keep him warm, and transport without delay.

Following blunt trauma to the face, a 21-year-old male complains of a severe headache and decreased ability to move his eyes. This patient's clinical presentation is most consistent with:

blowout fracture

A football player was struck by another player in the right flank area just below the posterior rib cage. He complains of severe pain and point tenderness to the area. Your assessment reveals that there is a small amount of blood in his underwear. You should be most suspicious for:

blunt injury to the kidney.

A 50-year-old male was splashed in the eyes with radiator fluid when he was working on his car. During your assessment, he tells you that he wears soft contact lenses. You should:

carefully remove the contact lenses and then irrigate his eyes with saline.

A 30-year-old male experienced a crushing injury when his forearm was trapped between the back of a truck and a loading dock. Upon your arrival, the man's arm has been freed. Your assessment reveals that his arm is obviously deformed and swollen and is cold and pale. Further assessment reveals an absent radial pulse. You should be most concerned that this patient has:

compartment syndrome

A 30-year-old female presents with redness, inflammation, and pain to her left eye. During your assessment, you note that she is having difficulty keeping her eyes open. You should suspect that she is experiencing:

conjunctivitis

A 54-year-old male accidentally shot himself in the leg while cleaning his gun. Your assessment reveals a small entrance wound to the medial aspect of his right leg. The exit wound is on the opposite side of the leg and is actively bleeding. The patient complains of numbness and tingling in his right foot. You should:

control the bleeding and cover the wound with a sterile dressing.

A 39-year-old male accidentally cut his wrist while sharpening his hunting knife. He is conscious and alert with adequate breathing but is bleeding significantly from the wound. You should:

control the bleeding with direct pressure.

A construction worker fell approximately 30 feet and landed in a pile of steel rods. Your assessment reveals that he is pulseless and apneic and has a 10-foot steel rod impaled in his left leg. You should:

control the bleeding, begin CPR, stabilize the steel rod, immobilize his spine, and transport immediately.

A 40-year-old male was in his woodworking shop when he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his left eye. Your assessment reveals a small splinter of wood embedded in his cornea. You should:

cover both of his eyes and transport to the hospital.

A 52-year-old unrestrained female struck the steering wheel with her face when her truck collided with another vehicle. She has obvious swelling to her face and several dislodged teeth. A visual exam of her mouth reveals minimal bleeding. She is conscious and alert with a blood pressure of 130/80 mm Hg, a pulse of 110 beats/min, and respirations of 22 breaths/min with adequate tidal volume. You should:

fully immobilize her spine, attempt to locate the dislodged teeth, suction as needed, and transport.

You are assessing a 59-year-old male and note that his pupils are unequal. He is conscious and alert. When obtaining his medical history, it is most pertinent to ask him if he:

has a history of eye surgeries.

A 17-year-old football player collided with another player and has pain to his left clavicle. He is holding his arm against his chest and refuses to move it. Your assessment reveals obvious deformity to the midshaft clavicle. After assessing distal pulse, sensory, and motor functions, you should:

immobilize the injury with a sling and swathe.

During your secondary assessment of a 19-year-old female with multiple traumas, you note bilateral humeral deformities and a deformity to the left midshaft femur. Her skin is diaphoretic, and her pulse is rapid and weak. Your partner has appropriately managed her airway and is maintaining manual stabilization of her head. The most appropriate treatment for this patient includes:

immobilizing her to a backboard and rapidly transporting.

During your primary assessment of a semiconscious 30-year-old female with closed head trauma, you note that she has slow, irregular breathing and a slow, bounding pulse. As your partner maintains manual in-line stabilization of her head, you should:

instruct him to assist her ventilations while you perform a rapid assessment.

Following direct trauma to the upper part of the anterior neck, a young male presents with labored breathing, loss of voice, and subcutaneous emphysema in the soft tissues around his neck. You should suspect a(n):

laryngeal fracture

A 29-year-old male has an anterior nosebleed after he was accidentally elbowed in the nose. He is conscious and alert with adequate breathing. The most appropriate care for this patient includes:

leaning him forward and pinching his nostrils together.

A 44-year-old male sustained a laceration to his left ear during a minor car accident. Your assessment reveals minimal bleeding. Appropriate care for this injury includes:

padding between the ear and the scalp.

A 43-year-old man is experiencing a severe nosebleed. His blood pressure is 190/110 mm Hg and his heart rate is 90 beats/min and bounding. Preferred treatment for this patient includes:

pinching the patient's nostrils and having him lean forward.

A 77-year-old woman slipped and fell on a throw rug and landed on her left hip. She denies striking her head or losing consciousness. Assessment of her left leg reveals that it is shortened and externally rotated. Distal pulses, sensory, and motor functions are intact. You should:

place her onto a scoop stretcher, pad around her left hip with pillows, and secure her to the scoop with straps.

A 45-year-old female was the unrestrained passenger of a small car that rear-ended another vehicle at a moderate rate of speed. She is conscious and alert but complains of pain to both of her knees. There is visible damage to the dashboard on the passenger's side of the vehicle. In addition to fractures or dislocations of the knees, you should be most suspicious for:

posterior hip dislocation

A 30-year-old man complains of severe pain to his right tibia after an injury that occurred the day before. The patient's leg is pale, and he is unable to move his foot. The EMT should suspect that:

pressure in the fascial compartment is elevated.

A 20-year-old male was pulled from cold water by his friends. The length of his submersion is not known and was not witnessed. You perform a primary assessment and determine that the patient is apneic and has a slow, weak pulse. You should:

provide rescue breathing, remove wet clothing, immobilize his spine, keep him warm, and transport carefully.

A man called EMS 12 hours after injuring his chest. Your assessment reveals a flail segment to the right side of the chest. The patient is experiencing respiratory distress, and his oxygen saturation is 78%. His breath sounds are equal bilaterally, and his jugular veins are normal. You should suspect:

pulmonary contusion

A 6-year-old female was riding her bicycle and struck a clothesline with her throat. She is breathing but with obvious difficulty. Your assessment reveals a crackling sensation in the soft tissues of her neck and facial cyanosis. In addition to the appropriate airway management, the intervention that will most likely improve her chance of survival is:

rapidly transporting her to the hospital.

A 56-year-old male has an incomplete avulsion to his right forearm. After controlling any bleeding from the wound you should:

replace the avulsed flap to its original position and cover it with a sterile dressing.

An 8-year-old male was bitten by a stray dog. He has a large laceration to the back of his left hand, which your partner covered with a sterile dressing and bandage. In addition to transporting the child to the hospital, you should:

report the incident to the appropriate authorities.

A 20-year-old male collided with another player during a hockey game and complains of severe pain to the left shoulder. Assessment reveals that the clavicle is bulging anteriorly at the shoulder. The EMT should suspect.

separation of the acromioclavicular joint.

After blunt trauma to the abdomen, a 21-year-old female complains of diffuse abdominal pain and pain to the left shoulder. Your assessment reveals that her abdomen is distended and tender to palpation. On the basis of these findings, you should be most suspicious of injury to the:

spleen

A 31-year-old male fell and landed on his left elbow. Your assessment reveals that the elbow is grossly deformed, his forearm is cool and pale, and the distal pulse is barely palpable. His vital signs are stable, and he denies any other injuries. Your transport time to the closest appropriate hospital is approximately 12 minutes. You should:

splint the elbow in the position found and transport.

A 22-year-old female was ejected from her car after striking a tree head-on. As you approach her, you note obvious closed deformities to both of her femurs. She is not moving and does not appear to be conscious. You should:

stabilize her head and perform a primary assessment.

During your secondary assessment of a 30-year-old male who fell 25 feet, you note crepitus when palpating his pelvis. Your partner advises you that the patient's blood pressure is 80/50 mm Hg, and his heart rate is 120 beats/min and weak. After completing your assessment, you should:

stabilize the pelvis with a pelvic binder and protect the spine.

You and your partner are preparing to apply a traction splint to a patient's deformed thigh. As you apply manual traction, the patient resists your efforts and states that the pain is getting worse. You should:

stop and splint the leg in the deformed position.

You respond to a local lake where a diver complains of difficulty breathing that occurred immediately after rapidly ascending from a depth of approximately 30 feet. On assessment, you note that he has cyanosis around his lips and pink froth coming from his nose and mouth. You should:

suction his mouth and nose, apply high-flow oxygen, monitor the patient's breath sounds for a pneumothorax, and contact medical control regarding transport to a recompression facility.

During your primary assessment of a 19-year-old unconscious male who experienced severe head trauma, you note that his respirations are rapid, irregular, and shallow. He has bloody secretions draining from his mouth and nose. You should:

suction his oropharynx for up to 15 seconds.

A 31-year-old male was bitten on the leg by an unidentified snake. The patient is conscious and alert and in no apparent distress. Your assessment of his leg reveals two small puncture marks with minimal pain and swelling. In addition to administering oxygen and providing reassurance, further care for this patient should include:

supine positioning, splinting the leg, and transporting.

You arrive at the home of a 50-year-old female with severe epistaxis. As you are treating her, it is most important to recall that:

the patient is at risk for vomiting and aspiration.

A teenage boy who was involved in a bicycle accident has a puncture wound where the bicycle kickstand impaled his leg. The most appropriate method for treating this injury is to:

unbolt the kickstand from the bike frame and stabilize it with bulky dressings.