ATLS Pretest QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS

A 22-year-old man is hypotensive and tachycardic after a shotgun wound to the left shoulder. His blood pressure is initially 80/40 mm Hg. After initial fluid resuscitation his blood pressure increases to 122/84 mm Hg. His heart rate is now 100 beats per minute and his respiratory rate is 28 breaths per minute. A tube thoracostomy is performed for decreased left chest breath sounds with the return of a small amount of blood and no air leak. After chest tube insertion, the most appropriate next step is: Select one: a. reexamine the chest b. perform an aortogram c. obtain a CT scan of the chest d. obtain arterial blood gas analyses e. perform transesophageal echocardiography correct answer: A) Reexamine the chest A construction worker falls two stories from a building and sustains bilateral calcaneal fractures. In the emergency department, he is alert, vital signs are normal, and he is complaining of severe pain in both heels and his lower back. Lower extremity pulses are strong and there is no other deformity. The suspected diagnosis is most likely to be confirmed by: Select one: a. angiography b. compartment pressures c. retrograde urethrogram d. Doppler ultrasound studies e. complete spine x-ray series correct answer: e) Complete spine x-ray series Which of the following is true regarding the initial resuscitation of a trauma patient? Select one: a. A patient that presents with a torso gunshot wound and is hypotensive should receive crystalloid fluid resuscitation until the blood pressure is normal b. Evidence of improved perfusion after fluid resuscitation could include improvement in Glasgow coma scale score on reevaluation c.