Your patient is presenting with variable degrees of acute sp…

Your patient is presenting with variable degrees of acute spinal injury as a result of a fall from atop a 20-foot ladder. His skin is pink, warm, and dry, his upper extremities are flaccid, and there are absent reflexes. Sensory function below the level of the injury is impaired. Vital signs are BP 96/68, P 74, R 18, and SpO2 97% on room air. You suspect

A 32-year-old firefighter presents with multiple injuries af…

A 32-year-old firefighter presents with multiple injuries after an explosion. She is gasping for air and complaining of severe light-headedness and weakness. She is breathing shallow and has equal lung sounds. During the explosion, a piece of wood pierced her thoracic wall at the fifth intercostal space along the left sternal border. She is confused, cyanotic, and JVD is present. Her apical impulse is diminished. Vital signs are BP 90/80, P 130, and R 30. You suspect

Your patient is presenting with variable degrees of acute sp…

Your patient is presenting with variable degrees of acute spinal injury as a result of a fall from atop a 20-foot ladder. His skin is pink, warm, and dry, his upper extremities are flaccid, and there are absent reflexes. Sensory function below the level of the injury is impaired. Vital signs are BP 96/68, P 74, R 18, and SpO2 97% on room air. You suspect

Your 16-year-old baseball player was hit in the chest by a l…

Your 16-year-old baseball player was hit in the chest by a line drive and collapsed on the pitcher’s mound. Bystanders report tonic-clonic seizure activity before he became completely unresponsive. They also report applying an AED and shocking the patient twice prior to your arrival. Currently, vital signs are BP 94/50, P 84, and R 12. You suspect