Exam 28: Bleeding and Soft Tissue Trauma

An alert and oriented patient has had a portion of his hand amputated by a table saw. Assessment reveals the patient to be in great pain with a moderate amount of dark red blood still coming from the injury site. His airway is open and his breathing is fast, but adequate. The radial pulse is rapid and strong, and his skin is warm and dry. The patient's hand has been placed in a bag of ice by coworkers. Which one of the following should the EMT do immediately?

Which one of the following statements made by the EMT shows an understanding of dressing and bandaging a wound?

Your patient is a young man who fell down a flight of stairs and is now restless and confused. His airway is open, and he is breathing adequately at 18 times per minute. He has a radial pulse of 92 beats per minute and his skin is cool and diaphoretic. Your next action would be to:

You are called for a 78-year-old female who fell earlier in the day. As you enter her kitchen, you observe her sitting in a chair with ecchymotic areas to her left cheek and left arm. There also appears to be blood on her pants. She is on oxygen and is breathing in a moderately labored manner. She states that she fell a few hours ago and now the pain and swelling in her arm are unbearable. Which one of the following would you do first?

The EMT is by the side of a young female who was cut while washing dishes. She has a jagged laceration to her left forearm that is bleeding steadily and heavily. When attempting to control the bleeding, the EMT would first:

You have arrived on a scene where a young girl has pushed her arms through a plate glass window. She is responsive to painful stimuli and has blood spurting from a large laceration on her right upper arm. Your paramedic partner yells for you to immediately apply direct pressure to the laceration to prevent further blood loss, while he works to control the airway. You have yet to apply latex gloves, but are wearing goggles and a gown. What would you do next?

Assessment findings of a driver who was ejected from his vehicle in a rollover-type collision include unresponsiveness and bruising to the abdominal and pelvic areas, along with an open femur fracture. The patient has an open airway and is breathing at 32 times per minute. His skin is cool and diaphoretic and the radial pulses are weak. Manual in-line spinal stabilization is being maintained. The EMT's next action would be to:

While en route to a domestic with possible injuries, the police contact you and report a male patient with arterial bleeding from a stab wound to the arm. Given this information, which of the following do you expect?

Which one of the following best describes a topical hemostatic agent?

A 49-year-old male was climbing on a truck at a construction site when he fell backward to the ground. He presents with a 2-inch linear wound to the top of his head. Bleeding has been controlled and the skull can be seen through the wound. How should you document this injury on the prehospital care report?

Assessment of an 88-year-old female who fell reveals bruising to her right buttock. The skin is intact and the patient complains of tenderness to the area when you palpate. As a knowledgeable EMT, you would recognize what type of injury?

Another crew has called for your assistance in extricating an obese male with a nosebleed from a third-floor bedroom. As you enter the room, which observation indicates proper management of the patient's condition?

You believe that a patient who has been shot in the lower abdomen is bleeding internally and is in an early stage of shock. Which one of the following shows appropriate prehospital care of this patient?

A construction worker has a metal rod impaled in his right forearm. Assessment of the injury indicates heavy bleeding from around the impaled object. Which one of the following should you do first?

As you approach a young male lying on the sidewalk, you observe an area of dark blood on his pants. He appears lethargic, pale, and diaphoretic. Your first action in caring for this patient would be to:

A patient presents with an arrow impaled in the right lower quadrant of his abdomen. He is in excruciating pain and states that he was accidentally shot by a friend while hunting. While there is no external bleeding coming from the injury, the surrounding skin is ecchymotic. Other assessment findings indicate early shock. Which action should the EMT perform first?

A 66-year-old female patient has been struck by a car. Your assessment reveals gurgling respirations, rapid breathing, and cool, diaphoretic skin. You also observe bruising to the chest and abdomen. Which one of the following should you do immediately?

A female patient has been involved in a motorcycle crash. Your scene size-up reveals her to be unresponsive and lying in the roadway. It also appears that her left leg has been amputated at the knee. Which one of the following should you do immediately?

You arrive at a meat packing plant to find a 30-year-old male cut in the wrist with a sharp knife. The patient appears pale and blood is spurting from the laceration. Your immediate action would be to:

When providing prehospital care to a patient with a soft-tissue injury, which of the following is true?