Chapter 34 Flashcards
When assessing a patient with maxillofacial trauma, it is most important to:
• protect the cervical spine and monitor the patient’s neurologic status.
• gently palpate the maxilla, mandible, and zygoma to elicit crepitus.
• apply a cervical collar and determine if the patient has visual disturbances.
• have the patient open their mouth and assess for dental malocclusion.
protect the cervical spine and monitor the patient’s neurologic status.
Bradycardia that occurs shortly after you have dressed and bandaged an open neck wound is most likely the result of:
• decreased venous return from the brain and an increase in intracranial pressure.
• parasympathetic nervous system stimulation due to excessive pressure on the carotid artery.
• an acute pulmonary embolism due to the entrainment of air into one of the jugular veins.
• decreased vagal tone secondary to direct injury to the vagus nerve.
Parasympathetic nervous system stimulation due to excessive pressure on the carotid artery
Loss of function of the lower arms and hands following trauma to the anterior neck is indicative of damage to the:
• brachial plexus.
• vagus nerves.
• carotid artery.
• parathyroid glands.
Brachial plexus.
When caring for a patient with fractured or avulsed teeth following an assault, you should:
• remove any partially avulsed teeth and immerse them in water.
• flush the patient’s mouth with sterile water for 20 minutes.
• assess the knuckles of the person who assaulted the patient.
• handle any avulsed teeth by the root only, not the crown.
Assess the knuckles of the person who assaulted the patient
When caring for a patient with a seemingly isolated ear injury, you should:
• perform a careful assessment to detect or rule out more serious injuries.
• carefully assess the external ear canal and inner ear for blood or CSF.
• recall that the pinna of the ear is highly vascular and bleeds profusely.
• consider direct transport of the patient to an audiologist for evaluation.
perform a careful assessment to detect or rule out more serious injuries.
The middle ear consists of the:
• pinna and the exterior portion of the tympanic membrane.
• organ of Corti and the external auditory canal.
• inner portion of the tympanic membrane and the ossicles.
• cochlea and semicircular canals.
inner portion of the tympanic membrane and the ossicles.
If a patient is unable to follow your finger above the midline following blunt trauma to the face, you should be most suspicious for a(n):
• orbital skull fracture.
• Le Fort II fracture.
• nasal bone fracture.
• basilar skull fracture.
Orbital skull fracture
Hyphema is defined as:
• double vision following blunt eye trauma.
• severe ecchymosis to the orbital region.
• marked swelling of the globe of the eye.
• blood in the anterior chamber of the eye.
blood in the anterior chamber of the eye.
If a knife is impaled in the neck:
• a cricothyrotomy may be required to establish a patent airway.
• it should be shortened to facilitate proper airway management.
• you should stabilize the object in place, regardless of its location.
• it should be removed in case the airway becomes compromised.
A cricothyrotomy may be required to establish a patent airway
A patient with a dysconjugate gaze following an ocular injury:
• should be treated by irrigating both eyes for 20 minutes.
• has discoordination between the movements of both eyes.
• most likely has a concomitant basilar skull fracture.
• should have ice applied to the eyes to prevent blindness.
has discoordination between the movements of both eyes.
