Blunt Trauma Flashcards
Is blunt trauma common?
YES, it is the MOST common cause of trauma-related death and disability
Can you see how bad the blunt trauma is?
no, blunt trauma can be deceptive because the truth nature of injury is often hidden and evidence of the serious injury is very subtle or even absent.
Kinetics
the branch of physics that deals with motion, taking into consideration mass and force
inertia
explains what happens during the blunt trauma; tendency of an object to remain at rest or remain in motion unless acted on by an external force.
motion
the process of changing place; movement.
what happens upon an impact
the patient absorbs the energy
energy
the capacity to do work in the strict physical sense
Kinetic energy
is the energy of motion. .
what can trauma be categorized as?
blunt or penetrating
what is blunt trauma?
blunt trauma occurs when a body area is struck by an object. which can damage organs beneath the skin. Can be deep within the body cavity.
what is penetrating injury
penetrating injury is produce when an object enters the body resulting in direct injury
what are the events of vehicle collision, in order?
Vehicle collision body collision organ collision secondary collisions additional impacts
what may secondary collisions cause?
a patients injuries or severity
what are the types of impact?
frontal lateral rotational rear-end rollover
frontal impact?
most common type of impact.
what to pathways occur with a frontal impact?
down-and-under (occupant slides down, knee femur hip dislocations or fractures are common)
up-and-over (occupant tenses legs, in preparation for impact, upper body pivots upward and forward, femurs hit and cause bilateral femur fractures, may also abdominal and head injuries)
Ejection (injury anywhere on the body, occupant flies out of vehicle)
axial loading
application of the forces of trauma along the axis of the spine; this often results in compression fractures of the spine.
crumple zone
the region of a vehicle designed to absorb the energy of impact
what may the occupant experience in a lateral impact?
may experience impact to eh head, lateral bending of the neck, twisting of the heart and the aorta, and humeral. clavicular, pelvis, and femoral fracture.
head and body cavity injuries account for how much?
67.2%
what way does an adult frequently turn when hit by a car?
turn away
what does a child frequently turn when hit by a car?
turn toward it
pressure wave
area of over-pressure that radiates outward from an explosion
what are the mechanisms associated with blasts in order?
pressure wave blast wind projectiles personnel displacement confined space explosions and structural collapses burns
an explosion releases tremendous amount of what?
heat energy which generates a pressure wave, blast wind, and projection of debris
what are the blast injury phases?
primary - caused by heat of explosion and overpressure wave
secondary - caused by blast projectiles
Tertiary - caused by personnel displacement and structural collpase
most common injury associated with an explosion is?
pulmonary injuries
what happens in the lung in pulmonary blast trauma?
the pressure wave rapidly and forcefully compresses and distorts the chest cavity, individual air passages and the alveoli. during compression/decompression the air pressures in these areas do not have to time to equalize as they do with normal respiration. the extreme pressure damages or ruptures the thin and delicate alveolar walls. resulting in the fluid accumulation, hemorrhage, and possibly even the entry of air directly into the bloodstream from the alveoli. fluid accommodation (pulmonary edema) makes the lungs less elastic and air movement more difficult. the victim may spit or cough up blood or a frothy mixture of blood and air.
how to ventilate and what position should you try to put a blast inured occupant it?
very carefully, the mechanism of injury may have damaged the alveolar-capillary walls and opened small blood vessels to the alveolar space. positive pressure ventilations may push small air bubbles into the vascular system and create emboli. these emboli may quickly travel to the heart and break
try to put the patient in the left lateral recumbent position with the head somewhat down. this positioning with discourage emboli from travelling up the carotid arteries and toward the brain.
what happens in the abdomen in a blast injury
blast waves sudden compression/decompression may damage the air-filled bowel violent movements of the bowel wall cause hemorrhage and possibly wall structure. Rupture releases bowel contents into the abdominal cavity, leading, overtime, to severe infection and irritation (peritonitis)
pneumothorax
collection of air or gas in the pleural cavity between the best wall and lung
hemoptysis
expectoration of blood from the respiratory tract
emboli
undissolved solid, liquid, or gaseous matter in the bloodstream that may cause blockage of blood vessels.
sport injuries are most commonly produced by what
extreme exertion, fatigue, or direct trauma forces
The capacity to do work is termed:
Energy
The order of events in an auto collision are:
vehicle collision, body collision, organ collision, and secondary collisions.
Hand, finger, facial, and nasal injuries in an automobile accident are most likely caused by:
airbags
The up-and-over pathway is most commonly associated with:
frontal auto collisions.
The type of injury most commonly associated with the rear-end impact is:
neck injury.
In motor collisions, helmets can reduce the incidence and severity of head injury by:
50-65%
The branch of physics that deals with forces affecting objects in motion and the energy exchanges that occur as objects collide is
kinetics
The tendency of an object to remain at rest or remain in motion unless acted on by an external force is:
inertia
Kinetic energy is the energy of
motion
According to the kinetic energy formula, if an object’s weight is quadrupled the kinetic energy will:
quadruple.
Energy can neither be created not destroyed. It only changes from one form to another is the Law of:
Conservation of Energy.
According to the kinetic energy formula, it is twice as damaging to be hit by a four kilogram object as it is to be hit by a(n)
two kilogram object.
According to the kinetic energy formula, as speed increases there is a(n):
squared increase in kinetic energy
Often the main factor in auto collisions is the vehicle’s:
deceleration
When significant kinetic energy is applied to human anatomy it is referred to as
trauma
The phase of a vehicle collision where kinetic energy converts to vehicle damage is:
vehicle collision
The phase of a vehicle collision when a vehicle’s occupant strikes the interior and the initial tissue trauma occurs is in the
body collision
The phase of a vehicle collision where an occupant’s body comes to a halt resulting in blunt trauma is:
organ collision
The phase of a vehicle collision when an occupant is hit by objects traveling within the auto is the:
secondary collisions
If an occupant is only wearing a lap belt during a vehicle collision they are most likely to incur abdominal compression and:
spinal (T12 to L2) injuries
Left front, right front, left rear, and right rear are subcategories of
rotational vehicle impacts.
The region of a vehicle designed to absorb the energy of impact is the
crumple zone.
The majority of vehicular trauma injuries occur to the:
head and body cavity.
The four types of motorcycle impacts are frontal, ejection, sliding, and:
angular
The area of overpressure that radiates outward from an explosion is a(n):
pressure wave.
