Chapter 13: Abdominal, Pelvic Injuries

Question 1

What is a flail chest?

Answer 1

Several ribs in the same area broken in more than one place

Question 2

What are symptoms of flail chest?

Answer 2

area of the injury moving in an opposite direction than the rest of the chest, very difficult and painful breathing, bruising over injury; same signs as rib fractures

Question 3

What do you do if someone has flail chest?

Answer 3

What to do: do not apply tight bandages; stabilize the chest by using a pillow or soft material, coat against the area of wrapping the arm on the injured person; placing the person on their injured side with a blanket or similar soft material underneath the person. Give the person a blanket to hug; call 9-1-1

Question 4

What is a pneumothorax?

Answer 4

When the sharp end of the broken rib protrudes into the chest cavity, it may puncture the lung causing it to collapse and allow air between the lung and the chest wall

Question 5

What is a tension pneumothorax?

Answer 5

when air progressively accumulates in the space between the venae cavae lung and the chest wall during inhalation and cannot escape during exhalation- reduce cardiac output and decrease in blood return to the heart

Question 6

What is a sucking chest wound?

Answer 6

a chest wound allows air to pass into the chest with each breath; bubbles will be seen at the wound during exhalations and a sucking sound during inhalations

Question 7

Symptoms of sucking chest wound?

Answer 7

blood bubbling out of chest during exhalation; sucking sound hear during inhalation

Question 8

What do you do if someone has sucking chest wound?

Answer 8

leave the wound exposed; do Not cover an open chest wound unless using direct pressure to control bleeding; use dry gauze pad and once it is blood-soaked replace it to avoid trapping air; call 911

Question 9

What do you do if someone has a protruding organ?

Answer 9

cover the organ with moist, clean dressing; place a loose plastic wrap or another layer of dressing

Question 10

Abdominal Injuries flowchart

Answer 10

If someone has an abdominal wound and there is an impaled object, stabilize it with bulky dressings and call 911. If there are no impaled objects, and there are protruding organs, do not touch them and cover them with a moist, clean dressing and call 911. If there is no abdominal wound and there are no protruding organs, place the person on the sidprepare for vomiting. Monitor for internal injuries and call 911.