Emergency Procedures & Sideline Management Flashcards

During a football game, a player sustains a facial laceration with active arterial bleeding. The most appropriate immediate sideline action is:

Answer: Apply direct firm pressure with a sterile gauze for at least 5–10 minutes

Direct continuous pressure for 5–10 minutes is the first-line treatment for facial lacerations, which have excellent vascularity and typically respond well.

The primary reason a sports medicine provider should NOT remove a football helmet in a suspected cervical spine injury (except in specific indications) is:

Answer: Helmet removal without shoulder pad removal can extend the cervical spine and worsen injury

Removing the helmet without simultaneously removing shoulder pads creates cervical extension because shoulder pads elevate the torso relative to the head.

An athlete on the sideline reports a sudden severe headache described as 'the worst headache of my life' after heading a soccer ball. The most concerning diagnosis is:

Answer: Subarachnoid hemorrhage

A thunderclap headache — sudden severe 'worst headache of my life' — is the classic presentation of subarachnoid hemorrhage and requires immediate emergency transport.

Which of the following is the most accurate field test for assessing exertional heat stroke severity?

Answer: Rectal temperature measurement

Rectal temperature is the gold standard for core temperature measurement in heat stroke; oral, axillary, and tympanic methods are unreliable during exercise.

During sideline assessment of a potential pneumothorax after a chest wall blow, which finding most strongly supports this diagnosis?

Answer: Absent breath sounds on the affected side with respiratory distress

Absent unilateral breath sounds combined with respiratory distress after chest trauma strongly indicates pneumothorax requiring immediate EMS activation.

A basketball player with a known peanut allergy develops urticaria, throat tightness, and hypotension after eating a snack bar. After administering epinephrine, the next step is:

Answer: Activate EMS and prepare for a second dose of epinephrine if no improvement in 5–15 minutes

Biphasic anaphylaxis can occur hours after initial reaction; all anaphylaxis cases require EMS transport and observation, with a second epinephrine dose available if needed.

The Modified SITS test (shoulder instability assessment) is LEAST appropriate in which sideline scenario?

Answer: Suspected posterior glenohumeral dislocation with neurovascular compromise

Neurovascular compromise with a suspected dislocation is a surgical emergency — sideline instability testing is contraindicated and delays necessary care.