A 25-year-old man was thrown from a bull in a rodeo event….
A 25-year-old man was thrown from a bull in a rodeo event. He landed head-first on hard-packed dirt. He opens his eyes to voice command, but his words are garbled and do not make sense. He does not comply with a request to squeeze your hands, although you have observed that he is able to move his arms and hands. When you apply a painful stimulus, he does not try to push it away, but attempts to withdraw from it. Your assessment of this patient should include:
Read DetailsDuring the management of a patient with blunt chest trauma,…
During the management of a patient with blunt chest trauma, you suspect that he is suffering from a hemothorax to his right lung. The patient is not experiencing any respiratory distress. What clinical finding would be the most consistent with this type of injury?
Read DetailsA 25-year-old man riding his motorcycle struck a stopped ca…
A 25-year-old man riding his motorcycle struck a stopped car from behind at a speed of about 30 mph. He was thrown up and over the handlebars of the motorcycle, struck the back window of the car, and fell back to the pavement. You arrive within three minutes to find a pale, shivering patient with cold skin and mottled lips despite the 75-degree Fahrenheit temperatures and the patient’s motorcycle jacket and jeans. The patient is awake but has difficulty answering you because he is trembling and his teeth are chattering. You immediately see that his pupils are dilated, and he has deformity and swelling of both thighs. There is no major external bleeding. The patient’s radial pulse is weak, thready, and rapid. Which assessment and management plan provides the best sequence of care for this patient?
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