PHTLS Review Test 2026/2027 | 30+ Questions & Answers | Shock, Airway, Hemorrhage, TBI, Ventilation & Trauma Assessment

This comprehensive Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) Review Test 2026/2027 contains 30+ exam-style questions and answers across 6 pages, providing focused preparation in the core principles of prehospital trauma management. The document covers shock and inadequate tissue perfusion, hemorrhage control, primary and secondary trauma assessment, airway management, oxygenation, ventilation, traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal trauma, pediatric trauma, fluid resuscitation, scene assessment, transport priorities, and evidence-based practice. It combines concise definitions with clinical questions designed to reinforce rapid recognition and treatment of immediate threats to life. A major portion focuses on hemorrhage and shock management. The material defines shock in terms of inadequate perfusion and cellular energy production and identifies hemorrhagic shock from uncontrolled internal or external bleeding as a major concern in trauma. Students review immediate hemorrhage control, direct pressure followed by tourniquet application when appropriate, early manifestations of shock such as an increased ventilatory rate, and blood-pressure considerations during trauma resuscitation. The questions connect hemorrhage control directly with the primary goal of identifying and treating life-threatening conditions as early as possible. The document provides detailed review of airway management, ventilation, and oxygenation. Topics include the jaw-thrust maneuver for opening a trauma patient's airway, suctioning an airway contaminated by blood, endotracheal intubation and the training required to maintain proficiency, end-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring for confirming tube placement, airway patency, pulmonary ventilation, gas exchange, oxygenation, tidal volume, anatomical dead space, and the diaphragm's role in breathing. It also distinguishes ventilation—the mechanical movement of air between the environment and alveoli—from oxygenation and gas exchange. Another high-yield section examines traumatic brain and spinal injury. Students review primary versus secondary injury, the role of carbon dioxide in cerebral vasodilation, decreasing level of consciousness as an important indicator of increasing intracranial pressure, and the importance of maintaining airway patency, oxygenation, and ventilation to reduce preventable secondary brain injury. A neurological scenario also associates sensory loss from approximately the nipple line downward with a T4-level spinal injury. The resource also addresses prehospital assessment and operational decision-making. Students review factors to consider before arrival—including time of day, weather, location, scene hazards, and possible additional resource requirements—as well as the purpose of the primary assessment, timing of the secondary assessment, rapid removal using a scoop stretcher, and priorities for prompt transportation. The document presents the overall prehospital goal as establishing and maintaining the patient's airway, ventilation, oxygenation, and circulation while minimizing unnecessary scene time. Pediatric considerations include rapid deterioration following compensation, fluid resuscitation, and recognition of critical illness or injury. The final section also addresses traumatic cardiopulmonary arrest and termination of resuscitation in a specific scenario. Because numerical resuscitation targets and termination-of-resuscitation criteria can vary according to age, mechanism, clinical findings, EMS system, medical direction, and updated protocols, these answers should be checked carefully against current standards rather than applied universally. For authoritative academic reference, learners should compare this study resource with the current edition of Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS), developed by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) in cooperation with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma and published by Jones & Bartlett Learning. Current PHTLS course materials, local EMS protocols, medical direction, and contemporary resuscitation guidance should take precedence where they differ from this review document, particularly for blood-pressure targets, pediatric fluid administration, ventilation, spinal-motion restriction, and termination of resuscitation. Relevant Students: This document is relevant to PHTLS course participants, NAEMT PHTLS students, EMT students, Advanced EMT candidates, paramedic students, EMS professionals, emergency medical responders, firefighters, prehospital clinicians, flight and critical-care transport personnel, military medics, tactical medical personnel, emergency nursing students, trauma-care trainees, and healthcare professionals preparing for trauma examinations or continuing education. 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