Trauma Flashcards
Frequent findings in a patient with a traumatic basal skull fracture include all of the following, EXCEPT:
a) Bruising behind the ear.
b) Facial nerve palsy.
c) Otorrhea.
d) Severe epistaxis.
d) Severe epistaxis.
What GCS score will typically require intubation?
8
What hemorrhage classifications will require blood instead of crystalloid?
Class III and IV hemorraghic shock
What is the leading cause of trauma-type mortality in pediatrics?
MVCs
What is the first sign of hypovolemia?
Tachycardia
What is the leading cause of trauma during pregnancy?
MVCs, falls, and assaults
What to do when a pregnant mother experiences supine hypotensive syndrome?
This is caused by aortocaval compression by the uterus and as such, you should place the mother in left lateral decubitus position while keeping the spine neutral.
What are the 3 trauma zones of the neck?
Zone 1: Horizontal zone between clavicles and cricoid cartilage
Zone 2: Cricoid cartilage to angle of mandible
Zone 3: Angle of mandible to base of skull
What zone of the neck requires operative exploration?
Zone 2 which is the zone between cricoid cartilage to angle of mandible
A 36-year-old man sustains blunt chest trauma after a fall. He is hemodynamically stable. Which of the following conditions is an indication for a thoracotomy?
A.
Flail chest
B.
Undrained hemothorax after tube thoracostomy
C.
Initial chest tube output of 1000 mL
D.
Continuous chest tube drainage of more than 200 mL/h of blood for 4 hours
E.
Pulmonary contusion
Correct answer: D
A 22-year-old woman, at 30 weeks’ gestation, sustains a stab wound to the right upper chest. In the emergency department, blood pressure is 75/55 and breath sounds are diminished in the right chest. She is anxious and gasping for air. The most appropriate first step is to:
A.
Insert two large-caliber peripheral intravenous lines and start crystalloid infusion.
B.
Manually displace the gravid uterus to the left side of the abdomen.
C.
Perform a needle decompression of the right chest.
D.
Perform tracheal intubation.
E.
Obtain a chest x-ray
Correct answer: C
Loss of 20% of a patient’s blood volume is associated with:
A.
Oliguria
B.
Hypotension
C.
Tachycardia
D.
Confusion
E.
Blood transfusion requirement
C
In trauma, what is the most common cause of mortality within seconds to minutes?
This is often due to due to overwhelming injury involving the brain, spinal cord, heart, airway, and great vessels (aortic transection).
In trauma, what is the most common cause of mortality within “golden hour”?
Typically due to organ injury.
Second peak: the “golden hour” after trauma, during which intervention has greatest impact. Deaths in this period result from intracranial hemorrhage, hemothorax, tension pneumothorax, ruptured spleen, severe liver lacerations, femur fractures, and other multiorgan injuries.
In trauma, what is the most common cause of mortality within “golden hour”?
Third peak: This occurs several days to weeks after trauma due to sepsis and multiorgan failure.
What are the indications for a laparotomy? (5)
- Hemodynamic instability or peritoneal irritation
- Blunt trauma (with appropriate 4 criteria)
- Penetrating trauma (with appropriate previously described indications
- GSW penetrating the box (superior border: nipple line, inferior border: perineum and gluteal folds, flanks: posterio axillary line)
- Stab wounds that penetrate the anterior abdominal fascia
For a blunt trauma, in what scenarios would a laparotomy be indicated? (4)
- Hypotension due to intraabdominal injury (do not waste time in the emergency department with more than a radiograph and type and crossmatch if hypotension persists)
- Positive focused assessment sonography in trauma (FAST) with hypotension
- Diaphragmatic rupture or free air
- Computed tomographic (CT) scan showing extravasation from liver or spleen injury, renal pedicle injury, pancreatic hematoma, mesenteric hematoma, or large amount of free fluid in pelvis not explained by solid organ injury (suggestive of small bowel injury)
Stab wounds that penetrate the anterior abdominal wall fascia requires emergent laparotomy. How do you verify that the fascia has been violated? (4)
(1) Local wound exploration (although the false negative rate is nearly 30%)
(2) FAST, although if negative it does not exclude injury
(3) Diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL), which can be useful to identify injuries when patients have small amounts of free fluid without obvious injury
(4) Diagnostic laparoscopy
What are the four interfaces for FAST?
FAST is used to look for free fluid in the
1. Pericardium
2. Hepatorenal fossa (Morrisson’s Pouch)
3. Splenorenal fossa
4. Pelvis/Pouch of Douglas
What are the contraindications of Diagnostic Peritoneal Lavage?
Contraindications include
1. prior abdominal operations
2. coagulopathy
3. obesity
The stomach and bladder should be decompressed first to avoid injury.
What is the greatest concern for trauma-related spleen injury?
Post-splenectomy infection from encapsulated bacteria
What are the causative microorganisms post-splenectomy?
Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria mengitides
What should be done as part of post-operative management post-splenectomy?
Vaccines should be given to cover encapsulated bacteria within 2 weeks of injury or immediately before patient is discharged.
Which type of pancreatic injury can be managed non-operatively?
Contusions
A 28-year-old man was involved in a motor vehicle collision (MVC) requiring a splenectomy. He received 9 units of packed red blood cells (pRBCs) before arrival and 4 L of crystalloid. He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) postoperatively, and now peak airway pressures are increasing. He is hypotensive to 82/46 mm Hg with a central venous pressure (CVP) of 15 mm Hg. He is no longer making urine and has a bladder pressure of 32 mm Hg. What is the most appropriate next step in this patient’s management?
A.
Computed tomography (CT) scan
B.
Continue volume resuscitation
C.
Decompressive laparotomy
D.
Add a vasopressor
Correct answer: C
A 32-year-old woman was involved in a high-impact MVC and arrived with a blood pressure of 78/46, heart rate of 130, and intubated. On primary survey she has multiple injuries, including an unstable pelvis and a distended abdomen. She has received 2 L of lactated Ringer’s solution (LR) and is now receiving blood with continued hypotension. What is the next step in this patient’s management?
A.
Exploratory laparotomy
B.
CT scan
C.
Focused assessment sonography in trauma (FAST) examination
D.
Angiogram
C
What is a pneumomediastinum a sign of?
Most commonly due to pulmonary injury with PTX, raises concern for esophageal or airway injury.
What is the definition of a flail chest?
At least two fractures per rib in two or more consecutive ribs.
What is the cardiac box?
Medial to the nipples, between the costal margin and clavicles
What are the three indications for a emergent thoracotomy in trauma patients?
- Initial chest tube output exceeding 1500ml of blood
- Bloody drainage exceeding 200 -250ml/h for 3 consecutive hours
- Shock without other etiology
What is the immediate treatment for tension pneumothorax?
Needle thoacostomy. Insert a 14 gauge IV canula in the 2nd intercostal space until air is aspirated or gush of air is noted.
Whaat are the 5 principles of resuscitative thoracotomy?
- Evacuation of pericardial tamponade
- Control of massive hemorrhage from the heart, lungs, or great vesseels
- Performance of internal cardiac massage.
- Cross-clamping of descending aorta to improve cerebral and coronary blood flow
- Evacuation of bronchovenous air in air embolism
What are the traditional indications for resuscitative thoracotomy?
a. Penetrating trauma with loss of vital signs in the trauma bay; or less than 15 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) en route
b. Blunt trauma with loss of vital signs in the trauma bay; or less than 5 minutes, CPR en route
What are the 3 contraindications to resuscitative thoracotomy?
a. No signs of life in the field. Signs of life: pupillary reactivity, spontaneous respiration, palpable pulse, cardiac electrical activity, or spontaneous movement
b. Penetrating trauma with greater than 15 minutes of CPR en route
c. Blunt trauma with greater than 5 minutes of CPR en route
What are the 7 causes of limb compartment syndrome?
- Fracture
- Intracompartmental or extracompartmental hematoma
- Cast or external compressive dressings
- Crush injury
- Reperfusion injury secondary to ischemia, vascular injury
- Burns—increased fluid load and capillary permeability
- Intravenous (IV) infiltration
What are the late findings of compartment syndrome?
a. Paresthesia and paralysis
b. Pulselessness
c. Pallor
d. Poikilothermia—limb cold to touch
How to diagnose limb compartment syndrome?
- A compartment’s perfusion pressure (ΔP) is the difference between the diastolic pressure and the compartment pressure.
- ΔP ≤30 mm Hg is diagnostic of compartment syndrome and is an indication for fasciotomy.