Thermal and Electrical Injuries Flashcards
6 cards from real ATLS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Thermal and Electrical Injuries flashcards as text
Using the Parkland formula, what is the 24-hour fluid requirement for a 70 kg patient with 40% TBSA burns?
Answer: 11,200 mL
Parkland formula: 4 mL x 70 kg x 40% = 11,200 mL LR over 24 hours, half in first 8 hours.
A patient with circumferential full-thickness burns of both legs develops tense compartments and diminished pulses. Treatment?
Answer: Perform escharotomy
Circumferential full-thickness burns create rigid eschar acting as a tourniquet; escharotomy restores perfusion.
What percentage of TBSA does one patient palm (including fingers) represent?
Answer: 1%
The patient's palm plus fingers equals approximately 1% TBSA.
An electrician sustains high-voltage (>1000V) electrical injury with minimal skin burns. What internal injuries should be suspected?
Answer: Deep muscle necrosis, cardiac arrhythmias, and rhabdomyolysis
High-voltage injuries cause extensive deep tissue damage disproportionate to visible burns.
Which burn type is characterized by white/waxy appearance, no pain, and no capillary refill?
Answer: Full-thickness (third-degree)
Full-thickness burns destroy all skin layers including nerve endings, resulting in insensate, white/waxy wounds requiring grafting.
A burn patient develops hoarseness, stridor, and carbonaceous sputum 2 hours after a house fire. Most critical concern?
Answer: Impending upper airway obstruction from inhalation injury
These signs indicate supraglottic thermal injury with progressive edema that will worsen over 12-24 hours.