CAISS – Thorax Questions and Answers with Complete Solutions

CAISS – Thorax Questions and Answers with Complete Solutions What does AIS define as part of the Chest? Skin (excluding shoulder girdle & sternoclavicular region), Trachea & Esophagus below the sternal notch, bronchus, diaphragm, heart, lungs, rib cage, sternum, Thorcic vessels(including thoracic aorta & vena cava), Thoracic Spine What does ISS consider as part of the Chest? AIS Thorax Chapter, Thoracic Spine, Drowning How is an "Open" chest wound defined? Defined as a sucking chest wound What region of the chest fills partly or complete with air, blood or mixture for a pneumothorax, hemothorax, or hemopneumothorax? Intrapleural space. What does the presence of air in the intrapleural space indicate? Tears in the airway or chest wall, pneumothorax What does the presence of blood in the intrapleural space indicate? Torn blood vessels, hemothorax If a patient has flail and non-flail ribs on the right side how would you code? Unilateral flail chest and rib fractures without flail are coded only as flail. How would you code rib fractures if the patient had flail on the right and no flail on the left? Code as two separate injuries Define flail chest. Three or more adjacent ribs each fractured in two or more places Is a costal cartilage fracture considered a rib fracture? Yes What is necessary to code lung contusion? History of trauma & verified by imaging or autopsy. Can you code both a lung contusion and lung laceration? Yes. Each are considered independent injuries in the chest If chest trauma is only diagnosised by it's sequela with no specific information how would you code? Thoracic injury NFS