A trauma patient has absent breath sounds on the right, distended neck veins, tracheal deviation to the left and hypotension. What is the immediate management?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Needle decompression then a chest drain
- Step 1: This is tension pneumothorax, a clinical diagnosis.
- Step 2: Immediate decompression restores venous return and breathing.
Answer
Needle decompression then a chest drain.
Why not the others: 'Chest X-ray before any treatment' delays life-saving decompression; 'Intubation and positive pressure ventilation first' can worsen tension pneumothorax; 'Pericardiocentesis' treats tamponade, not tension pneumothorax.
Practise more General Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed Qatar Healthcare Practitioner Licensing Exam (QCHP / DHP) mock tests.
More General Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care questions
- A 34-year-old male is brought to the trauma bay following a high-speed motor vehicle collision. He is tachypneic, cyanotic, and tracheal dev…
- A 28-year-old male presents with acute periumbilical pain that migrated over 12 hours to the right lower quadrant, accompanied by anorexia a…
- A 56-year-old woman presents with severe epigastric and right upper quadrant abdominal pain radiating to her right infrascapular area, accom…
- A 40-year-old male presents with sudden-onset excruciating epigastric abdominal pain described as a 'bursting sensation'. Abdominal exam rev…
- In the primary survey of a trauma patient according to Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), what is the mandatory immediate step to execute…
- A 68-year-old male with an 8 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm undergoes successful open repair. On postoperative day 2, he develops worsening ol…