CSTR Exam 2026 2027 200 Application Questions, Correct Answers
& Detailed Rationales 129 Que | Exams of Nursing Comprehensive
Assessment
Updated Questions and Verified Answers | 200 Questions | 100% VERIFIED
Introduction
The CSTR trauma examination assesses the knowledge and professional judgment required
for accurate trauma assessment, resuscitation, registry documentation, and ongoing patient
care. This comprehensive assessment spans eight core domains: Trauma Assessment and
Triage Systems; Hemorrhage Control and Shock Management; Airway Management and
Respiratory Trauma; Neurological Trauma and Traumatic Brain Injury; Musculoskeletal and
Spinal Cord Injuries; Burn, Thermal, and Environmental Emergencies; Trauma
Resuscitation and Damage Control Surgery; and Post-Trauma Care, Complication
Prevention, and Rehabilitation. Each question that follows targets a distinct sub-topic
within this blueprint, from field triage criteria and injury severity scoring through
hemorrhage control, airway and ventilator strategies, neurologic monitoring, extremity and
spinal management, burn and environmental care, damage control principles, and
rehabilitation planning. Mastery of these domains supports professional certification and
strengthens trauma nursing clinical execution, trauma registry accuracy, and performance
improvement review.
1. A trauma registry typically includes a patient when the record meets which
threshold?
A. The patient received any emergency department evaluation regardless of the injury
mechanism
B. The patient was transported by ambulance for a medical complaint
C. The patient sustained an injury within the registry inclusion criteria, such as trauma
team activation, intensive care admission, or death during the admission
D. The patient was admitted for a scheduled surgical procedure
Correct Answer: C. The patient sustained an injury within the registry inclusion
criteria, such as trauma team activation, intensive care admission, or death
during the admission
Rationale: Registries capture patients who meet defined injury and resource use
thresholds so that the database reflects the trauma population. Medical admissions,
routine emergency visits without injury, and elective surgery fall outside those criteria,
although criteria differ slightly among states and verification systems.
2. The purpose of the field triage decision scheme is to:
A. Determine the final hospital billing classification for the injury
, B. Guide prehospital personnel in selecting the destination and level of care most
appropriate for the injured patient's condition
C. Establish the legal standard of care for prehospital clinicians
D. Assign the patient's injury severity score before arrival
Correct Answer: B. Guide prehospital personnel in selecting the destination and
level of care most appropriate for the injured patient's condition
Rationale: The scheme directs transport decisions using physiologic, anatomic,
mechanism, and special consideration criteria. Billing classification, legal standards, and
severity scoring are separate processes that occur outside field destination decisions.
3. Step one of the field triage decision scheme evaluates which criteria?
A. Mechanism of injury criteria such as a fall from a significant height
B. Physiologic criteria such as a Glasgow Coma Scale score below 14, systolic blood
pressure below 90, or respiratory rate outside the normal adult range
C. Special considerations such as the patient's age or anticoagulation status
D. Anatomic criteria such as a penetrating injury to the torso
Correct Answer: B. Physiologic criteria such as a Glasgow Coma Scale score below
14, systolic blood pressure below 90, or respiratory rate outside the normal adult
range
Rationale: Physiologic derangement indicates the highest level of need and is assessed
first. Mechanism, special consideration, and anatomic criteria are applied at subsequent
steps of the scheme.
4. Injury severity score calculation requires which components?
A. The sum of all abbreviated injury scale scores across every injured region
B. The Glasgow Coma Scale score multiplied by the number of injured regions
C. The three highest abbreviated injury scale scores from different body regions,
squared and summed
D. The revised trauma score divided by the patient's age in years
Correct Answer: C. The three highest abbreviated injury scale scores from
different body regions, squared and summed
Rationale: The score uses the three most severe region scores, each squared and added,
with a maximum of 75. Summing all scores, multiplying by the coma scale, and dividing
by age are incorrect computations.
5. An injury severity score of 16 or greater is commonly used in registries and
research to define:
A. Minor trauma
B. Major trauma
C. Isolated extremity injury
D. Non-injured comparison cases
Correct Answer: B. Major trauma
, Rationale: A score of 16 or above is the customary threshold for major trauma in
outcome analyses. Lower scores describe lesser injury, and the isolated extremity or
non-injury labels do not correspond to the score range.
6. The abbreviated injury scale assigns severity codes ranging from:
A. 1 for minor injury through 6 for an untreatable injury
B. 0 for no injury through 3 for severe injury
C. 1 for minor injury through 10 for fatal injury
D. 2 for moderate injury through 8 for critical injury
Correct Answer: A. 1 for minor injury through 6 for an untreatable injury
Rationale: The scale ranges from one to six, with six designating injuries that cannot be
treated successfully. The other ranges misstate the upper limit and the meaning of the
assigned values.
7. Overtriage and undertriage are measured against which standard?
A. The number of imaging studies ordered during the emergency department stay
B. The length of stay measured in intensive care unit days
C. The total charges billed for the trauma admission
D. An injury severity score of 16 or greater or a need for immediate life saving
intervention, which identifies patients who truly require a trauma center
Correct Answer: D. An injury severity score of 16 or greater or a need for
immediate life saving intervention, which identifies patients who truly require a
trauma center
Rationale: Overtriage occurs when patients without major injury are transported to
trauma centers, and undertriage when major injury patients are taken elsewhere.
Imaging volumes, unit days, and charges measure resource use rather than triage
accuracy.
8. A target undertriage rate of five percent or less is recommended because
undertriage results in:
A. Delayed definitive care for patients who need it, which increases preventable
mortality
B. Excessive use of hospital resources by uninjured patients
C. Increased staffing requirements for prehospital agencies only
D. Higher registry abstraction workloads for hospitals
Correct Answer: A. Delayed definitive care for patients who need it, which
increases preventable mortality
Rationale: Undertriage places seriously injured patients at risk through delay, whereas
resource use, staffing, and abstraction workload describe consequences of overtriage.
9. The primary survey differs from the secondary survey in that the primary survey:
A. Addresses immediate threats to life in the order of airway, breathing, circulation,
disability, and exposure
B. Completes a head to toe examination before any intervention is performed
, C. Records the patient's past medical and surgical history in detail
D. Documents the mechanism of injury for the registry record
Correct Answer: A. Addresses immediate threats to life in the order of airway,
breathing, circulation, disability, and exposure
Rationale: The primary survey identifies and treats threats in priority order before
moving to a complete examination and history during the secondary survey. Detailed
examination, history taking, and registry documentation follow stabilization.
10. Per the ABCDE format, the disability step of the primary survey focuses on:
A. Placement of a cervical collar and long spine board
B. Evaluation of pelvic stability and long bone integrity
C. Measurement of oxygen saturation and end tidal carbon dioxide
D. A brief neurologic evaluation that includes the Glasgow Coma Scale score and
pupillary response
Correct Answer: D. A brief neurologic evaluation that includes the Glasgow Coma
Scale score and pupillary response
Rationale: The disability step screens for neurologic compromise in a rapid, structured
manner. Collar placement relates to the airway and cervical spine, pelvic and long bone
examination belongs to exposure and circulation, and oxygenation monitoring belongs
to breathing.
11. Which patient detail best distinguishes a mechanism related triage trigger from a
physiologic one?
A. Both the fall height and the blood pressure are physiologic criteria
B. Both the fall height and the blood pressure are mechanism criteria
C. A fall of more than twenty feet is a mechanism criterion, whereas a systolic pressure
below 90 is physiologic
D. Neither the fall height nor the blood pressure is part of the triage scheme
Correct Answer: C. A fall of more than twenty feet is a mechanism criterion,
whereas a systolic pressure below 90 is physiologic
Rationale: Mechanism criteria describe the energy involved, while physiologic criteria
describe the patient's response. Labeling both as physiologic or both as mechanism, or
excluding them entirely, misclassifies the scheme's components.
12. Special considerations in the field triage decision scheme direct a higher level of
care for which patients, even without physiologic or anatomic triggers?
A. Older adults, patients taking anticoagulants, and patients with complicating medical
conditions
B. Patients with normal vital signs and isolated abrasions
C. Patients transported from a private residence during daytime hours
D. Patients who decline transport to any hospital
Correct Answer: A. Older adults, patients taking anticoagulants, and patients with
complicating medical conditions
& Detailed Rationales 129 Que | Exams of Nursing Comprehensive
Assessment
Updated Questions and Verified Answers | 200 Questions | 100% VERIFIED
Introduction
The CSTR trauma examination assesses the knowledge and professional judgment required
for accurate trauma assessment, resuscitation, registry documentation, and ongoing patient
care. This comprehensive assessment spans eight core domains: Trauma Assessment and
Triage Systems; Hemorrhage Control and Shock Management; Airway Management and
Respiratory Trauma; Neurological Trauma and Traumatic Brain Injury; Musculoskeletal and
Spinal Cord Injuries; Burn, Thermal, and Environmental Emergencies; Trauma
Resuscitation and Damage Control Surgery; and Post-Trauma Care, Complication
Prevention, and Rehabilitation. Each question that follows targets a distinct sub-topic
within this blueprint, from field triage criteria and injury severity scoring through
hemorrhage control, airway and ventilator strategies, neurologic monitoring, extremity and
spinal management, burn and environmental care, damage control principles, and
rehabilitation planning. Mastery of these domains supports professional certification and
strengthens trauma nursing clinical execution, trauma registry accuracy, and performance
improvement review.
1. A trauma registry typically includes a patient when the record meets which
threshold?
A. The patient received any emergency department evaluation regardless of the injury
mechanism
B. The patient was transported by ambulance for a medical complaint
C. The patient sustained an injury within the registry inclusion criteria, such as trauma
team activation, intensive care admission, or death during the admission
D. The patient was admitted for a scheduled surgical procedure
Correct Answer: C. The patient sustained an injury within the registry inclusion
criteria, such as trauma team activation, intensive care admission, or death
during the admission
Rationale: Registries capture patients who meet defined injury and resource use
thresholds so that the database reflects the trauma population. Medical admissions,
routine emergency visits without injury, and elective surgery fall outside those criteria,
although criteria differ slightly among states and verification systems.
2. The purpose of the field triage decision scheme is to:
A. Determine the final hospital billing classification for the injury
, B. Guide prehospital personnel in selecting the destination and level of care most
appropriate for the injured patient's condition
C. Establish the legal standard of care for prehospital clinicians
D. Assign the patient's injury severity score before arrival
Correct Answer: B. Guide prehospital personnel in selecting the destination and
level of care most appropriate for the injured patient's condition
Rationale: The scheme directs transport decisions using physiologic, anatomic,
mechanism, and special consideration criteria. Billing classification, legal standards, and
severity scoring are separate processes that occur outside field destination decisions.
3. Step one of the field triage decision scheme evaluates which criteria?
A. Mechanism of injury criteria such as a fall from a significant height
B. Physiologic criteria such as a Glasgow Coma Scale score below 14, systolic blood
pressure below 90, or respiratory rate outside the normal adult range
C. Special considerations such as the patient's age or anticoagulation status
D. Anatomic criteria such as a penetrating injury to the torso
Correct Answer: B. Physiologic criteria such as a Glasgow Coma Scale score below
14, systolic blood pressure below 90, or respiratory rate outside the normal adult
range
Rationale: Physiologic derangement indicates the highest level of need and is assessed
first. Mechanism, special consideration, and anatomic criteria are applied at subsequent
steps of the scheme.
4. Injury severity score calculation requires which components?
A. The sum of all abbreviated injury scale scores across every injured region
B. The Glasgow Coma Scale score multiplied by the number of injured regions
C. The three highest abbreviated injury scale scores from different body regions,
squared and summed
D. The revised trauma score divided by the patient's age in years
Correct Answer: C. The three highest abbreviated injury scale scores from
different body regions, squared and summed
Rationale: The score uses the three most severe region scores, each squared and added,
with a maximum of 75. Summing all scores, multiplying by the coma scale, and dividing
by age are incorrect computations.
5. An injury severity score of 16 or greater is commonly used in registries and
research to define:
A. Minor trauma
B. Major trauma
C. Isolated extremity injury
D. Non-injured comparison cases
Correct Answer: B. Major trauma
, Rationale: A score of 16 or above is the customary threshold for major trauma in
outcome analyses. Lower scores describe lesser injury, and the isolated extremity or
non-injury labels do not correspond to the score range.
6. The abbreviated injury scale assigns severity codes ranging from:
A. 1 for minor injury through 6 for an untreatable injury
B. 0 for no injury through 3 for severe injury
C. 1 for minor injury through 10 for fatal injury
D. 2 for moderate injury through 8 for critical injury
Correct Answer: A. 1 for minor injury through 6 for an untreatable injury
Rationale: The scale ranges from one to six, with six designating injuries that cannot be
treated successfully. The other ranges misstate the upper limit and the meaning of the
assigned values.
7. Overtriage and undertriage are measured against which standard?
A. The number of imaging studies ordered during the emergency department stay
B. The length of stay measured in intensive care unit days
C. The total charges billed for the trauma admission
D. An injury severity score of 16 or greater or a need for immediate life saving
intervention, which identifies patients who truly require a trauma center
Correct Answer: D. An injury severity score of 16 or greater or a need for
immediate life saving intervention, which identifies patients who truly require a
trauma center
Rationale: Overtriage occurs when patients without major injury are transported to
trauma centers, and undertriage when major injury patients are taken elsewhere.
Imaging volumes, unit days, and charges measure resource use rather than triage
accuracy.
8. A target undertriage rate of five percent or less is recommended because
undertriage results in:
A. Delayed definitive care for patients who need it, which increases preventable
mortality
B. Excessive use of hospital resources by uninjured patients
C. Increased staffing requirements for prehospital agencies only
D. Higher registry abstraction workloads for hospitals
Correct Answer: A. Delayed definitive care for patients who need it, which
increases preventable mortality
Rationale: Undertriage places seriously injured patients at risk through delay, whereas
resource use, staffing, and abstraction workload describe consequences of overtriage.
9. The primary survey differs from the secondary survey in that the primary survey:
A. Addresses immediate threats to life in the order of airway, breathing, circulation,
disability, and exposure
B. Completes a head to toe examination before any intervention is performed
, C. Records the patient's past medical and surgical history in detail
D. Documents the mechanism of injury for the registry record
Correct Answer: A. Addresses immediate threats to life in the order of airway,
breathing, circulation, disability, and exposure
Rationale: The primary survey identifies and treats threats in priority order before
moving to a complete examination and history during the secondary survey. Detailed
examination, history taking, and registry documentation follow stabilization.
10. Per the ABCDE format, the disability step of the primary survey focuses on:
A. Placement of a cervical collar and long spine board
B. Evaluation of pelvic stability and long bone integrity
C. Measurement of oxygen saturation and end tidal carbon dioxide
D. A brief neurologic evaluation that includes the Glasgow Coma Scale score and
pupillary response
Correct Answer: D. A brief neurologic evaluation that includes the Glasgow Coma
Scale score and pupillary response
Rationale: The disability step screens for neurologic compromise in a rapid, structured
manner. Collar placement relates to the airway and cervical spine, pelvic and long bone
examination belongs to exposure and circulation, and oxygenation monitoring belongs
to breathing.
11. Which patient detail best distinguishes a mechanism related triage trigger from a
physiologic one?
A. Both the fall height and the blood pressure are physiologic criteria
B. Both the fall height and the blood pressure are mechanism criteria
C. A fall of more than twenty feet is a mechanism criterion, whereas a systolic pressure
below 90 is physiologic
D. Neither the fall height nor the blood pressure is part of the triage scheme
Correct Answer: C. A fall of more than twenty feet is a mechanism criterion,
whereas a systolic pressure below 90 is physiologic
Rationale: Mechanism criteria describe the energy involved, while physiologic criteria
describe the patient's response. Labeling both as physiologic or both as mechanism, or
excluding them entirely, misclassifies the scheme's components.
12. Special considerations in the field triage decision scheme direct a higher level of
care for which patients, even without physiologic or anatomic triggers?
A. Older adults, patients taking anticoagulants, and patients with complicating medical
conditions
B. Patients with normal vital signs and isolated abrasions
C. Patients transported from a private residence during daytime hours
D. Patients who decline transport to any hospital
Correct Answer: A. Older adults, patients taking anticoagulants, and patients with
complicating medical conditions
