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pg. 1 PHTLS 10th Edition PRE AND POST- TEST
LATEST 2025 COMPLETE EXAM| QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
(VERIFIED ANSWERS) ALREADY GRADED A+
A trauma patient from the highway incident is holding her right arm, and you note a significant amount of blood steadily flowing from a long gash. This is an example of what type of hemorrhage?
- Capillary bleeding
- Venous bleeding
- Arterial bleeding
D. Road rash - Correct Answer -: B
Venous bleeding typically results in a steady flow of dark red blood.
What is the best way to control the bleeding?
- Direct pressure
- Elevation of the arm above the heart
- Tourniquet
D. Occlusive dressing - Correct Answer -: A
With venous bleeds, direct pressure is usually sufficient to stop the flow.
Which of the following requires you to develop a plan of action, initiate the plan, reassess the plan as care for the patient moves forward, and adjust the plan as the patient's condition or circumstances change?
- Principles of PHTLS 1 / 4
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pg. 2
- The Golden Period
- The XABCDE assessment
D. Critical thinking process - Correct Answer -: D
To help achieve the PHTLS goals, you will apply your critical thinking skills in the field. Critical thinking in medicine is a process in which the healthcare practitioner assesses the situation, the patient, and the resources available and uses the information to decide on and provide the best care for the patient.
Your partner is compressing the bleeding site of a male patient who was stabbed multiple times in the left chest. The bleeding seems to be controlled, yet the patient becomes combative. He is pale and is breathing rapidly, yet states that he "can't breathe" and feels that he is about to die. Your next step in patient management is
to:
- start assisted ventilation.
- give high-flow oxygen.
- decompress the left chest.
D. give a 250-mL fluid bolus. - Correct Answer -: C
After X come A and B. You can quickly auscultate the lungs (pneumothorax is almost certain with multiple stabs in the chest) and decompress the chest.Decompressing a tension pneumothorax is the quickest way to treat shock.
While end route to the hospital, you manage to put an 18-gauge IV in the right arm.Your patient is still confused, and you still have no radial pulse. Your next move is
to:
- give 1-L fluid bolus.
- give one 250-mL fluid bolus, and then stop.
- give fluid until you get a radial pulse.
D. administer TXA. - Correct Answer -: C 2 / 4
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pg. 3 Now is the time to titrate IV fluids to restore tissue perfusion. Giving 1 liter blindly could overshoot your target pressure and reinforce internal bleeding. TXA is not a priority, although it can run parallel to fluids.
After 400 mL of lactated Ringer solution, you get a radial pulse and his level of consciousness improves. The monitor shows heart rate 110 beats/minute, blood pressure 85/60mm Hg, SpO2 95%, ventilation rate 25 breaths/minute. What should you do?
- Give an additional 500 mL of lactated Ringer solution.
- Stop fluids and give 2 g of TXA.
- Give TXA and 500 mL of normal saline.
D. Give 2 mg of morphine for analgesia. - Correct Answer -: B
The patient does not need more fluids right now. Giving morphine in a shocked patient is a risky move and could lead to dangerous hypotension.
You now perform a secondary survey. You notice a sternotomy scar. Your patient tells you he is on oral clopidogrel since he had a coronary artery bypass graft 2 years ago. Is this information useful?
- No, he should stop talking and breathe.
- Yes, he should see a cardiologist once in the local hospital.
- Yes, he will need platelets and a heart surgeon ASAP.
- Yes, you should raise his blood pressure up to 130 mm Hg systolic. - Correct
Answer -: C
Because he is on clopidogrel, his platelets are out of order for at least 5 days, so he will require urgent platelet transfusion.
You're called out to an assisted living facility for a 72-year-old woman complaining of a severe headache and experiencing increased confusion. Staff reports she fell out of her wheelchair earlier in the week but didn't appear to be hurt; however, she's become increasingly disoriented over the last day or so. Vital 3 / 4
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pg. 4 signs show: BP 110/90; heartrate 118 and irregularly regular; ventilation rate 20 and slightly labored; SpO2 93% on room air. She is taking warfarin for a clotting issue. Which of the following should you suspect?
- Cerebral contusion
- Epidural hematoma
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
D. Subdural hematoma - Correct Answer -: D
The patient's age, use of a blood thinner, and the fact she fell recently point to a subdural hematoma.
Upon examination, you find the patient responsive to your presence, although she is clearly confused. Motor response shows reduced pain response but normal flexion. What's her GCS score?
- 15
- 12
- 10
D. 8 - Correct Answer -: B
Eye opening: 4; verbal response: 4; motor response: 4 = 12
What does the GCS score indicate?
- Mild TBI
- Moderate TBI
- Severe TBI
D. No TBI - Correct Answer -: B
A total GCS score of 13 to 15 likely indicates a mild TBI whereas a score of 9 to 12 is indicative of moderate TBI. A GCS score of 3 to 8 suggests severe TBI.
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