ATLS EXAM | ADVANCED TRAUMA LIFE SUPPORT
EXAM | ALL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS |
ALREADY GRADED A+ | VERIFIED ANSWERS |
LATEST VERSION 2025
A 64-year-old man, involved in a high-speed car crash, is resuscitated
initially in a small hospital with limited resources. He has a closed head
injury with a GCS score of 13. He has a widened mediastinum on chest x-
ray with fractures of left ribs 2 through 4 but no pneumothorax. After
infusing 2 liters of crystalloid solution, his blood pressure is 100/74, heart
rate is 110 beats per minute, and respiratory rate is 18 breaths per minute.
He has gross hematuria and a pelvic fracture. You decide to transfer this
patient to a facility capable of providing a higher level of care. The facility is
128km (80 miles) away. Before transfer, you should first:
A. Intubate the patient
B. Perform diagnostic peritoneal lavage
C. Apply the pneumatic antishock garment
D. Call the receiving hospital and speak to the surgeon on call
E. Discuss the advisability of transfer with the patients family. ---------
CORRECT ANSWER-----------------D. Call the receiving hospital and speak
to the surgeon on call
During the third trimester of pregnancy, all of the following changes occur
normally, EXCEPT a:
A. Decrease in PaCO2
B. Decrease in the leukocyte count
C. Reduce gastric emptying rate
D. Diminished residual lung volume
E. Diminished pelvic ligament tension ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------
------B. Decrease in the leukocyte count
In managing the head-injury patient, the most important initial step is to:
A. Secure the airway
,B. Obtain c-spine film
C. Support the circulation
D. Control scalp hemorrhage
E. Determine GCS score ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------A.
Secure the airway
The first maneuver to improve oxygenation after chest injury is:
A. Intubate the patient
B. Assess arterial blood gases
C. Administer supplemental oxygen
D. Ascertain the need for a chest tube
E. Obtain a chest x-ray ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------C.
Administer supplemental oxygen
A 25-year-old man, injured in a motor vehicular crash, is admitted to the
ED. His pupils react sluggishly and his eyes open to painful stimuli only. He
does not follow commands, but he does moan periodically. His right arm is
deformed and does not respond to painful stimulus; however, his left hand
reaches purposefully toward the painful stimulus. Both legs are stiffly
extended. His GCS score is:
A. 7
B. 8
C. 9
D. 10
E. 11 ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------9
A 20-year-old woman, at 32 weeks gestation, is stabbed in the upper right
chest. In the ED, her blood pressure is 80/60mmHg. She is gasping for
breath, extremely anxious, and yelling for help. Breath sounds are
diminished in the right chest. The most appropriate first step is to:
A. perform tracheal intubation
B. Insert an oropharyngeal airway
C. Perform needle decompression of the right chest
D. Manually displace the gravid uterus to the left side of the abdomen
,E. Initiate 2 large-caliber peripheral IV lines and crystalloid infusion ---------
CORRECT ANSWER-----------------C. Perform needle decompression of the
right chest
Which one of the following findings in an adult should prompt immediate
management during primary survey?
A. Distended abdomen
B. GCS of 11
C. Temperature of 36,5
D. Heart rate of 120 beats per minute
E. Respiratory rate of 40 breaths per minute ---------CORRECT ANSWER---
--------------E. Respiratory rate of 40 breaths per minute
A trauma patient present to your emergency department with inspiratory
stridor and a suspected C-spine injury. Oxygen saturation is 88% on high-
flow oxygen via a nonrebreathing mask. The most appropriate next step is
to:
A. Apply cervical traction
B. Perform immediate tracheostomy
C. Insert bilateral thoracostomy tubes
D. Maintain 100% oxygen and obtain immediate c-spine x-rays
E. Maintain inline immobilization and establish a definitive airway ---------
CORRECT ANSWER-----------------E. Maintain inline immobilization and
establish a definitive airway
When apply the Rule of Nines to infants,
A. It is not reliable
B. The body is proportionally larger in infants than in adults
C. The head is proportionally larger in infants than in adults
D. The legs are proportionally larger in infants than in adults
E. The arms are proportionally larger in infants than in adults ---------
CORRECT ANSWER-----------------C. The head is proportionally larger in
infants than in adults
, A 60-year-old man sustains a stab wound to the right posterior flank.
Witnesses state the weapon was a small knife. His heart rate is 90 beats
per minute, blood pressure is 128/72mmHg and respiratory rate is 24
breaths per minute. The most appropriate action to take at this time is to:
A. Perform a colonoscopy
B. Perform a barium enema
C. Perform an intravenous pyelogram
D. Perform serial physical examinations
E. Suture repair the wound and outpatient follow up ---------CORRECT
ANSWER-----------------D. Perform serial physical examinations
The following are criteria for transfer to a burn center, EXCEPT for:
A. Partial-thickness and full-thickness burns on greater than 10% of the
BSA
B. Any full-thickness burn
C. Partial-thickness and full-thickness burn involving the face, hands, feet,
genitalia, perineum and skin overlying major joints
D. Elevated central venous pressure
E. Inhalation injury ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------D. Elevated
central venous pressure
Systolic blood pressure starts to decrease in which class of hemorrhage?
A. Class 0
B. Class 1
C. Class 2
D. Class 3
E. Class 4 ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------C. Class 2
A 7-year-old boy is brought to the ED by his parents several minutes after
he fell through a window. He is bleeding profusely from a 6-cm wound of
his medial right thigh. Immediate management of the wound should consist
of:
EXAM | ALL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS |
ALREADY GRADED A+ | VERIFIED ANSWERS |
LATEST VERSION 2025
A 64-year-old man, involved in a high-speed car crash, is resuscitated
initially in a small hospital with limited resources. He has a closed head
injury with a GCS score of 13. He has a widened mediastinum on chest x-
ray with fractures of left ribs 2 through 4 but no pneumothorax. After
infusing 2 liters of crystalloid solution, his blood pressure is 100/74, heart
rate is 110 beats per minute, and respiratory rate is 18 breaths per minute.
He has gross hematuria and a pelvic fracture. You decide to transfer this
patient to a facility capable of providing a higher level of care. The facility is
128km (80 miles) away. Before transfer, you should first:
A. Intubate the patient
B. Perform diagnostic peritoneal lavage
C. Apply the pneumatic antishock garment
D. Call the receiving hospital and speak to the surgeon on call
E. Discuss the advisability of transfer with the patients family. ---------
CORRECT ANSWER-----------------D. Call the receiving hospital and speak
to the surgeon on call
During the third trimester of pregnancy, all of the following changes occur
normally, EXCEPT a:
A. Decrease in PaCO2
B. Decrease in the leukocyte count
C. Reduce gastric emptying rate
D. Diminished residual lung volume
E. Diminished pelvic ligament tension ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------
------B. Decrease in the leukocyte count
In managing the head-injury patient, the most important initial step is to:
A. Secure the airway
,B. Obtain c-spine film
C. Support the circulation
D. Control scalp hemorrhage
E. Determine GCS score ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------A.
Secure the airway
The first maneuver to improve oxygenation after chest injury is:
A. Intubate the patient
B. Assess arterial blood gases
C. Administer supplemental oxygen
D. Ascertain the need for a chest tube
E. Obtain a chest x-ray ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------C.
Administer supplemental oxygen
A 25-year-old man, injured in a motor vehicular crash, is admitted to the
ED. His pupils react sluggishly and his eyes open to painful stimuli only. He
does not follow commands, but he does moan periodically. His right arm is
deformed and does not respond to painful stimulus; however, his left hand
reaches purposefully toward the painful stimulus. Both legs are stiffly
extended. His GCS score is:
A. 7
B. 8
C. 9
D. 10
E. 11 ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------9
A 20-year-old woman, at 32 weeks gestation, is stabbed in the upper right
chest. In the ED, her blood pressure is 80/60mmHg. She is gasping for
breath, extremely anxious, and yelling for help. Breath sounds are
diminished in the right chest. The most appropriate first step is to:
A. perform tracheal intubation
B. Insert an oropharyngeal airway
C. Perform needle decompression of the right chest
D. Manually displace the gravid uterus to the left side of the abdomen
,E. Initiate 2 large-caliber peripheral IV lines and crystalloid infusion ---------
CORRECT ANSWER-----------------C. Perform needle decompression of the
right chest
Which one of the following findings in an adult should prompt immediate
management during primary survey?
A. Distended abdomen
B. GCS of 11
C. Temperature of 36,5
D. Heart rate of 120 beats per minute
E. Respiratory rate of 40 breaths per minute ---------CORRECT ANSWER---
--------------E. Respiratory rate of 40 breaths per minute
A trauma patient present to your emergency department with inspiratory
stridor and a suspected C-spine injury. Oxygen saturation is 88% on high-
flow oxygen via a nonrebreathing mask. The most appropriate next step is
to:
A. Apply cervical traction
B. Perform immediate tracheostomy
C. Insert bilateral thoracostomy tubes
D. Maintain 100% oxygen and obtain immediate c-spine x-rays
E. Maintain inline immobilization and establish a definitive airway ---------
CORRECT ANSWER-----------------E. Maintain inline immobilization and
establish a definitive airway
When apply the Rule of Nines to infants,
A. It is not reliable
B. The body is proportionally larger in infants than in adults
C. The head is proportionally larger in infants than in adults
D. The legs are proportionally larger in infants than in adults
E. The arms are proportionally larger in infants than in adults ---------
CORRECT ANSWER-----------------C. The head is proportionally larger in
infants than in adults
, A 60-year-old man sustains a stab wound to the right posterior flank.
Witnesses state the weapon was a small knife. His heart rate is 90 beats
per minute, blood pressure is 128/72mmHg and respiratory rate is 24
breaths per minute. The most appropriate action to take at this time is to:
A. Perform a colonoscopy
B. Perform a barium enema
C. Perform an intravenous pyelogram
D. Perform serial physical examinations
E. Suture repair the wound and outpatient follow up ---------CORRECT
ANSWER-----------------D. Perform serial physical examinations
The following are criteria for transfer to a burn center, EXCEPT for:
A. Partial-thickness and full-thickness burns on greater than 10% of the
BSA
B. Any full-thickness burn
C. Partial-thickness and full-thickness burn involving the face, hands, feet,
genitalia, perineum and skin overlying major joints
D. Elevated central venous pressure
E. Inhalation injury ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------D. Elevated
central venous pressure
Systolic blood pressure starts to decrease in which class of hemorrhage?
A. Class 0
B. Class 1
C. Class 2
D. Class 3
E. Class 4 ---------CORRECT ANSWER-----------------C. Class 2
A 7-year-old boy is brought to the ED by his parents several minutes after
he fell through a window. He is bleeding profusely from a 6-cm wound of
his medial right thigh. Immediate management of the wound should consist
of:
