A 20-Year-Old Female Has Called 911 for Chest Pain

Multiple Choice

A 20-year-old female has called 911 for chest pain. On scene you find that she has shallow breathing with an SpO₂ reading of 91% on room air. She states she was in a car crash yesterday and diagnosed in the hospital with broken ribs. She says that her pain is right where the ribs are broken and rates it a 10/10. Breath sounds are present bilaterally. In this situation, the EMT should attribute the hypoxia to which one of the following?

A) The fractured ribs have pierced the lung, causing it to collapse.
B) Swelling from the rib fractures has compressed the lung.
C) The patient is bleeding into the lungs, compressing the alveoli.
D) Pain from rib injury prevents full expansion of the chest cage.