PHTLS Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the PHTLS exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 PHTLS Exam Format at a Glance
📚 PHTLS Topics to Study (106)
✍️ Sample PHTLS Questions & Answers
1. A patient with a cervical spinal cord injury presents with bradycardia and hypotension but warm, dry skin. This pattern is MOST consistent with:
Neurogenic shock from high cervical cord injury causes loss of sympathetic tone, producing hypotension and bradycardia with warm, dry (vasodilated) skin.
2. Which anatomical feature of a child's airway makes intubation more challenging compared to an adult?
In children, the larynx is higher and more anterior, making visualization and intubation technically more difficult.
3. In a child with an isolated closed head injury and increased intracranial pressure, what ventilation rate is recommended to avoid hyperventilation?
Routine hyperventilation is harmful because it causes cerebral vasoconstriction and ischemia; ventilate at normal age-appropriate rates unless herniation is imminent.
4. On a PHTLS pre-test, what does the 'E' in the ABCDE primary survey stand for?
The 'E' stands for Exposure and Environment, requiring the patient to be fully exposed to identify all injuries while preventing hypothermia.
5. A prehospital provider arrives at a scene involving a motor vehicle collision with downed power lines across the vehicle. What is the correct initial action?
Downed power lines represent an immediate life threat to responders. The correct action is to stage at a safe distance and request the utility company to de-energize the lines. Appearance alone cannot confirm a line is de-energized — even still lines can be lethal.
6. A 2-year-old trauma patient has a GCS of 9. Using the modified pediatric GCS, what adjustment must be made to the verbal component?
The pediatric modification of the GCS verbal score accounts for age-appropriate vocalizations such as crying, babbling, or words rather than adult verbal responses.