Thoracic and Cardiovascular Trauma Flashcards
6 cards from real TCRN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Thoracic and Cardiovascular Trauma flashcards as text
Which chest injury is characterized by multiple rib fractures in two or more places creating a free-floating segment?
Answer: Flail chest
Flail chest occurs when multiple contiguous ribs fracture in two or more places, creating a segment that moves independently.
An intubated trauma patient's ventilator shows rising peak airway pressures with sudden hemodynamic deterioration. What should the nurse suspect?
Answer: Tension pneumothorax
Rising peak pressures combined with hemodynamic collapse in a ventilated patient strongly suggests tension pneumothorax.
What is the most immediate intervention for an open (sucking) chest wound?
Answer: Apply a three-sided occlusive dressing and prepare for chest tube
A three-sided occlusive dressing allows air to escape on expiration while preventing air from entering on inspiration.
Which finding would most suggest cardiac tamponade in a trauma patient?
Answer: Beck's triad: hypotension, muffled heart sounds, and distended neck veins
Beck's triad—hypotension, muffled heart sounds, and JVD—classically indicates pericardial tamponade.
A penetrating chest wound at the fifth intercostal space, left midclavicular line is most likely to injure which structure?
Answer: Heart
The heart occupies the mediastinum between approximately the second and sixth intercostal spaces; a wound at the fifth left ICL puts the left ventricle at high risk.
Which radiographic sign on chest X-ray suggests traumatic aortic injury?
Answer: Widened mediastinum (>8 cm) with obliteration of the aortic knob
A widened mediastinum on chest X-ray is a classic early radiographic sign prompting further evaluation for aortic disruption.
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