Chest and Abdominal Injuries

You find evidence of a sucking chest wound on your physical exam, how would you address this injury?

• Apply gloved hand first, then apply occlusive dressing taped on 3 sides.

• Administer high-flow oxygen and monitor vital signs.

• Perform immediate chest tube insertion.

• Apply a pressure bandage and elevate the patient's head.

When assessing a patient who has a blunt-force trauma to the chest, you should be suspicious of this life threatening closed injury:

• Flail chest.

• Pneumothorax.

• Hemothorax.

• Cardiac tamponade.

To begin a physical assessment, you first:

• Remove or cut away clothing to expose the area

• Ask the patient about their medical history

• Wash your hands thoroughly

• Check the patient's vital signs

Signs of flail chest

• Paradoxical movement when breathing

• Increased lung sounds

• Decreased heart rate

• Cyanosis

Sucking chest wounds must be sealed immediately

• to prevent air entering the chest cavity.

• to allow for better breathing.

• to reduce pain in the chest area.

• to prevent blood loss from the wound.

Description of a hemothorax:

• Blood in the pleural space

• Fluid accumulation in the lungs

• Air in the pleural cavity

• Infection in the pleural space

Closed chest injury

• An injury that does not puncture through to the chest cavity, usually caused by blunt force trauma

• An injury that involves a puncture to the chest cavity

• An injury caused by a penetrating object that enters the chest

• An injury that results in a fracture of the ribs without any external wounds

Organs found in the ULQ

• Stomach

• Liver

• Appendix

• Gallbladder

For assessment purposes, the Emergency Medical Responder envisions the abdomen as being divided into:

• Sections

• Quadrants

• Regions

• Zones

A spontaneous pneumothorax occurs when

• there is a rupture in a weak area in the lung.

• the lung is overinflated due to excessive air pressure.

• the diaphragm is paralyzed and cannot function properly.

• the pleural cavity is filled with fluid.