2025 COMPREHENSIVE ATLS POST TEST, POST TEST
REVIEW AND KEY CONCEPTS| COMPLETE UPDATED
WITH CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS FOR
GUARANTEED CERTIFICATION EXCELLENCE
A 25-year-old male is brought to the hospital after sustaining partial- and full-
thickness burns involving 60% of his body surface area. General surgical services
are available. His right arm and hand are severely burned. There are obvious full-
thickness burns of the entire right hand and a circumferential burn of the right
arm. Pulses are absent at the right wrist and are not detected by Doppler
examination. Management should include:
A. Fasciotomy
B. Angiography
C. Escharotomy
D. Heparinization
E. Tangential excision
C
A 30-year-old male presents following a motor vehicle crash. Vital signs are
respiratory rate 18, heart rate 88, blood pressure 130/72 mmHg, and Glasgow
Coma Scale score 13. Laparotomy is indicated when:
A. There is a distinct seat-belt sign over the abdomen
B. The CT scan demonstrates a grade 4 hepatic injury
C. There is evidence of residual hemothorax after chest tube placement
,D. CT demonstrates retroperitoneal air
E. CT demonstrates a retroperitoneal hematoma
D
All of the following are signs of aortic rupture on chest x-ray of a patient who
sustained a blunt decelerating trauma except which one?
A. Mediastinal emphysema
B. Presence of a pleural cap
C. Obliteration of the aortic knob
D. Deviation of the trachea to the right
E. Depression of the left mainstem bronchus
A
A 30-year-old female is brought to the hospital after a fall from her bicycle. She
was initially unconscious and then regained consciousness en route to the
hospital. Thirty minutes after admission to the emergency department, her
Glasgow Coma Scale score decreases to 6. her right pupil is larger than the left.
She most likely has sustained:
A. A subdural hemorrhage
B. An epidural hemorrhage
C. An occipital hemorrhage
D. A subarachnoid hemorrhage
E. An intracerebellar hemorrhage
B
,You are treating a trauma patient and attempt a definitive airway by intubation.
However, the vocal cords are not visible. What tool would be the most valuable
for achieving successful intubation?
A. Gum elastic bougie
B. Lateral cervical spine x-ray
C. Nasopharyngeal airway
D. Oxygen
E. Esophageal obturator airway
A
A 79-year old female is involved in a motor vehicle crash and presents to the
emergency department. She is on warfarin (Coumadin®) and a beta blocker.
Which of the following statements is true concerning her management?
A. The risk of subdural hemorrhage is decreased.
B. Absence of tachycardia indicates that the patient is hemodynamically normal.
C. Nonoperative management of abdominal injuries is more likely to be successful
in older adults than in younger patients.
D. Vigorous fluid resuscitation may be associated with cardiopulmonary failure.
E. Epinephrine should be infused immediately for hypotension
D
, A 22-year-old male is brought by ambulance to a small community hospital after
falling from the top of a 2.4-meter (8-foot) ladder. Initially, he was found to have
a large right pneumothorax. A chest tube was inserted and connected to an
underwater seal drainage collection system with negative pressure. A repeat AP
portable chest x-ray demonstrates a residual, large, right pneumothorax. After
transferring the patient to a verified trauma center, a third chest x-ray reveals a
persistent right pneumothorax. The chest tube appears to be functioning and in
good position. The patient remains hemodynamically normal with no signs of
respiratory distress. The most likely cause for his persistent right pneumothorax
is:
A. Flail chest
B. Diaphragmatic injury
C. Pulmonary contusion
D. Esophageal perforation
E. Tracheobronchial injury
E
A 22-year-old female who is in the third trimester of pregnancy presents following
a motor vehicle crash. Paramedics report vaginal bleeding. What is the next step
in her treatment?
A. Assess fetal heart sounds.
B. Check for fetal movement.
C. Perform inspection of the cervix.
D. Ask the patient what her name is.
E. Insert a wedge under the patient's right hip.
D
REVIEW AND KEY CONCEPTS| COMPLETE UPDATED
WITH CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS FOR
GUARANTEED CERTIFICATION EXCELLENCE
A 25-year-old male is brought to the hospital after sustaining partial- and full-
thickness burns involving 60% of his body surface area. General surgical services
are available. His right arm and hand are severely burned. There are obvious full-
thickness burns of the entire right hand and a circumferential burn of the right
arm. Pulses are absent at the right wrist and are not detected by Doppler
examination. Management should include:
A. Fasciotomy
B. Angiography
C. Escharotomy
D. Heparinization
E. Tangential excision
C
A 30-year-old male presents following a motor vehicle crash. Vital signs are
respiratory rate 18, heart rate 88, blood pressure 130/72 mmHg, and Glasgow
Coma Scale score 13. Laparotomy is indicated when:
A. There is a distinct seat-belt sign over the abdomen
B. The CT scan demonstrates a grade 4 hepatic injury
C. There is evidence of residual hemothorax after chest tube placement
,D. CT demonstrates retroperitoneal air
E. CT demonstrates a retroperitoneal hematoma
D
All of the following are signs of aortic rupture on chest x-ray of a patient who
sustained a blunt decelerating trauma except which one?
A. Mediastinal emphysema
B. Presence of a pleural cap
C. Obliteration of the aortic knob
D. Deviation of the trachea to the right
E. Depression of the left mainstem bronchus
A
A 30-year-old female is brought to the hospital after a fall from her bicycle. She
was initially unconscious and then regained consciousness en route to the
hospital. Thirty minutes after admission to the emergency department, her
Glasgow Coma Scale score decreases to 6. her right pupil is larger than the left.
She most likely has sustained:
A. A subdural hemorrhage
B. An epidural hemorrhage
C. An occipital hemorrhage
D. A subarachnoid hemorrhage
E. An intracerebellar hemorrhage
B
,You are treating a trauma patient and attempt a definitive airway by intubation.
However, the vocal cords are not visible. What tool would be the most valuable
for achieving successful intubation?
A. Gum elastic bougie
B. Lateral cervical spine x-ray
C. Nasopharyngeal airway
D. Oxygen
E. Esophageal obturator airway
A
A 79-year old female is involved in a motor vehicle crash and presents to the
emergency department. She is on warfarin (Coumadin®) and a beta blocker.
Which of the following statements is true concerning her management?
A. The risk of subdural hemorrhage is decreased.
B. Absence of tachycardia indicates that the patient is hemodynamically normal.
C. Nonoperative management of abdominal injuries is more likely to be successful
in older adults than in younger patients.
D. Vigorous fluid resuscitation may be associated with cardiopulmonary failure.
E. Epinephrine should be infused immediately for hypotension
D
, A 22-year-old male is brought by ambulance to a small community hospital after
falling from the top of a 2.4-meter (8-foot) ladder. Initially, he was found to have
a large right pneumothorax. A chest tube was inserted and connected to an
underwater seal drainage collection system with negative pressure. A repeat AP
portable chest x-ray demonstrates a residual, large, right pneumothorax. After
transferring the patient to a verified trauma center, a third chest x-ray reveals a
persistent right pneumothorax. The chest tube appears to be functioning and in
good position. The patient remains hemodynamically normal with no signs of
respiratory distress. The most likely cause for his persistent right pneumothorax
is:
A. Flail chest
B. Diaphragmatic injury
C. Pulmonary contusion
D. Esophageal perforation
E. Tracheobronchial injury
E
A 22-year-old female who is in the third trimester of pregnancy presents following
a motor vehicle crash. Paramedics report vaginal bleeding. What is the next step
in her treatment?
A. Assess fetal heart sounds.
B. Check for fetal movement.
C. Perform inspection of the cervix.
D. Ask the patient what her name is.
E. Insert a wedge under the patient's right hip.
D
