POST TEST ATLS EXAM STUDY GUIDE
POST TEST ATLS EXAM
STUDY GUIDE. GRADED A+.
QUESTIONS AND 100%
VERIFIED ANSWERS.
LATEST UPDATE
1. Cardiac tamponade after trauma
a. is seldom life-threatening
b. can be excluded by an upright, AP chest x-ray
c. can be confused with a tension pneumothorax
d. causes a fall in systolic pressure of > 15 mm Hg with
expiration
e. most commonly occurs after blunt injury to the anterior
chest wall
2. Which one of the following statements regarding patients
with thoracic spine injuries is TRUE?
a. Log-rolling may be destabilizing to fractures from T-12 to L-1.
b. Adequate immobilization can be accomplished with the
scoop stretcher.
c. Spinal cord injury below T-10 usually spares bowel and
,POST TEST ATLS EXAM STUDY GUIDE
bladder function.
d. Hyperflexion fractures in the upper thoracic spine
are inherently unstable.
e. These patients rarely present with spinal shock in
association with cord
injury.
3. Absence of breath sounds and dullness to percussion over
the left hemithorax are fmdings best explained by
a. ff .
b. cardiac contusion
c. left simple pneumothorax
d. left diaphragmatic rupture
e. right tension pneumothorax.
4. A young man sustains a gunshot wound to the abdomen and
is brought promptly to the emergency department by
prehospital personnel. His skin is cool and diaphoretic, and
he is confused. His pulse is thready and his femoral
pulse is only weakly palpable. The defmitive treatment in
managing this patient is to
a. administer 0-negative blood
b. applyextemal warming devices.
c. Control internal hemorrhage operatively
d. apply the pneumatic antishock garment
e. infuse large volumes of intravenous crystalloid solution.
5. To establish a diagnosis of shock,
a. systolic blood pressure must be below 90 mm Hg.
,POST TEST ATLS EXAM STUDY GUIDE
b. the presence of a closed head injury should be excluded
c. acidosis should be present by arterial blood \gas analysis
d. the patient must fail to respond to intravenous fluid
infusion.
e. clinical evidence of inadequate organ perfusion must
be present.
6. A 23-year-old man is brought immediately to the emergency
department from the hospital' s parking lot where he was
shot in the lower abdomen. Examination reveals a single
bullet wound. He is breathing and has a thready pulse.
However, he is unconscious and has no detectable blood
pressure.
Optimal immediate management is to
a. perform diagnostic peritoneal lavage.
b. initiate infusion of packed red blood cells.
c. insert a nasogastric tube and urinary catheter.
d. transfer the patient to the operating room, while
initiating fluid therapy.
e. initiate fluid therapy to return his blood pressure to
normotensive
7. An electrician is electrocuted by a downed power line after a
thunderstorm. He apparently made contact with the wire at
the level of the right mid thigh. In the emergency
department, his vital signs are normal and no dysrhythmia is
noted on ECG. On examination, there is an exit wound on the
bottom of the right foot. His urine is positive for blood by dip
stick but no RBCs are seen microscopically. Initial management
POST TEST ATLS EXAM
STUDY GUIDE. GRADED A+.
QUESTIONS AND 100%
VERIFIED ANSWERS.
LATEST UPDATE
1. Cardiac tamponade after trauma
a. is seldom life-threatening
b. can be excluded by an upright, AP chest x-ray
c. can be confused with a tension pneumothorax
d. causes a fall in systolic pressure of > 15 mm Hg with
expiration
e. most commonly occurs after blunt injury to the anterior
chest wall
2. Which one of the following statements regarding patients
with thoracic spine injuries is TRUE?
a. Log-rolling may be destabilizing to fractures from T-12 to L-1.
b. Adequate immobilization can be accomplished with the
scoop stretcher.
c. Spinal cord injury below T-10 usually spares bowel and
,POST TEST ATLS EXAM STUDY GUIDE
bladder function.
d. Hyperflexion fractures in the upper thoracic spine
are inherently unstable.
e. These patients rarely present with spinal shock in
association with cord
injury.
3. Absence of breath sounds and dullness to percussion over
the left hemithorax are fmdings best explained by
a. ff .
b. cardiac contusion
c. left simple pneumothorax
d. left diaphragmatic rupture
e. right tension pneumothorax.
4. A young man sustains a gunshot wound to the abdomen and
is brought promptly to the emergency department by
prehospital personnel. His skin is cool and diaphoretic, and
he is confused. His pulse is thready and his femoral
pulse is only weakly palpable. The defmitive treatment in
managing this patient is to
a. administer 0-negative blood
b. applyextemal warming devices.
c. Control internal hemorrhage operatively
d. apply the pneumatic antishock garment
e. infuse large volumes of intravenous crystalloid solution.
5. To establish a diagnosis of shock,
a. systolic blood pressure must be below 90 mm Hg.
,POST TEST ATLS EXAM STUDY GUIDE
b. the presence of a closed head injury should be excluded
c. acidosis should be present by arterial blood \gas analysis
d. the patient must fail to respond to intravenous fluid
infusion.
e. clinical evidence of inadequate organ perfusion must
be present.
6. A 23-year-old man is brought immediately to the emergency
department from the hospital' s parking lot where he was
shot in the lower abdomen. Examination reveals a single
bullet wound. He is breathing and has a thready pulse.
However, he is unconscious and has no detectable blood
pressure.
Optimal immediate management is to
a. perform diagnostic peritoneal lavage.
b. initiate infusion of packed red blood cells.
c. insert a nasogastric tube and urinary catheter.
d. transfer the patient to the operating room, while
initiating fluid therapy.
e. initiate fluid therapy to return his blood pressure to
normotensive
7. An electrician is electrocuted by a downed power line after a
thunderstorm. He apparently made contact with the wire at
the level of the right mid thigh. In the emergency
department, his vital signs are normal and no dysrhythmia is
noted on ECG. On examination, there is an exit wound on the
bottom of the right foot. His urine is positive for blood by dip
stick but no RBCs are seen microscopically. Initial management
