Facial trauma Flashcards
(26 cards)
Q: What is the primary concern in facial trauma management?
Airway compromise due to swelling, bleeding, or structural injury.
What are common causes of midface fractures?
Motor vehicle accidents, assaults, and falls.
What classification system is used for midface fractures?
Le Fort classification (Types I, II, III).
What facial bones are most often fractured?
Nasal, maxillary, mandible, and zygoma bones.
Why is airway management crucial in facial trauma?
Obstruction from blood, swelling, or tissue damage can rapidly compromise breathing.
What should be avoided during initial nasal fracture assessment?
Palpation of the nasal bridge—it provides little benefit and can distress the patient.
What is the priority in managing eye injuries?
Prevent further injury, protect vision, and refer promptly.
What should you never do with an extruded or impaled eye object?
Never attempt to remove it—protect with a shield or polystyrene cup.
How should chemical eye burns be initially managed?
Irrigate immediately with running water for 15 minutes.
What is acute angle-closure glaucoma?
A true emergency with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP ≥ 60 mmHg), causing pain and visual disturbance.
What is the hallmark symptom of central retinal artery occlusion?
Sudden, painless, monocular blindness.
What occupations are most at risk for ocular trauma?
Metal workers, welders, carpenters, plumbers, machinists.
What are the main mechanisms of spinal injury?
Flexion, extension, compression, and rotation.
What is spinal shock?
is the sudden, temporary loss or impairment of spinal cord function below the level of injury that occurs after an acute spinal cord injury, including the motor, sensory, reflex, and autonomic neural systems.
not true circulatory shock.`
What is neurogenic shock?
Loss of sympathetic tone following spinal injury, leading to hypotension and bradycardia.
distributive type of shock resulting in hypotension, often with bradycardia, caused by disruption of autonomic nervous system pathways. It can occur after damage to the central nervous system, such as spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.
What spinal injuries impair breathing?
C3–C5 injuries may impair diaphragm (phrenic nerve), leading to respiratory compromise.
What is a complete spinal cord injury?
Absence of all motor and sensory function below the level of injury.
What is SCIWORA?
Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality.
What is autonomic dysreflexia?
A life-threatening reflex in patients with high SCI causing severe hypertension due to noxious stimuli.
What are signs of autonomic dysreflexia?
Hypertension, bradycardia, headache, flushed skin above the injury.
What is the leading cause of long-term death in SCI patients?
Pneumonia, followed by pulmonary embolism and sepsis.
What should always be assumed in unconscious trauma patients?
Suspected spinal cord injury until proven otherwise.
What airway manoeuvre is preferred in suspected spinal injury?
Jaw thrust—not head tilt–chin lift.
What does the SPEED assessment help identify?
Trauma patients who need diversion to a trauma centre due to spinal injury risk.
