Nobody Makes Me Bleed My Own Blood
The first step in controlling life-threatening external bleeding.
Direct pressure.
The most common cause of traumatic brain injury in adults.
Falls (or MVCs, depending on demographic, but NHTSA says falls)
Immediate life-threatening chest injury that requires needle decompression.
Tension pneumothorax
Current NEXUS criteria allow you to clear c-spine without imaging if all 5 are met.
No midline tenderness, no neuro deficit, normal alertness, no intoxication, no painful distracting injury
Rule of nines—percentage for entire head in adult.
9%
Largest planet in the solar system.
A: Jupiter
The only commercial tourniquet currently approved in Utah AEMT protocols.
CAT (Combat Application Tourniquet)
Cushing’s triad (name the three components).
Bradycardia, Widening pulse pressure (w/hypertension), irregular respirations
Proper needle location for needle thoracostomy in the current AHA/NAEMT recommendation.
4th/5th ICS mid-axillary (or 2nd ICS mid-clavicular)
The only patients who still require full spinal immobilization with c-collar + blocks + backboard per Utah 2025 protocol.
None—selective immobilization only (backboard only for extrication)
The Parkland formula for first 24 h fluid resuscitation.
4 mL × kg × %TBSA (½ in first 8 h)
Country with the most World Cup wins.
A: Brazil
Minimum width a tourniquet must be to be effective without causing compartment syndrome (in inches).
2 inches
The GCS score range that defines severe TBI.
GCS 3–8
Beck’s triad (pericardial tamponade).
Hypotension, muffled heart sounds, JVD
The spinal cord level below which a patient with complete transection will lose sympathetic tone to the lower body (causing neurogenic shock).
T6 or above
The only type of burn that requires mandatory escharotomy in the prehospital setting (Utah).
Circumferential full-thickness burns of chest or extremities with compromised perfusion
Element with atomic number 79.
Gold (Au)
The preferred hemostatic agent impregnated gauze for junctional wounds in the current Utah protocol.
Combat Gauze (or any kaolin-impregnated gauze)
The only prehospital intervention proven to reduce mortality in severe TBI with signs of herniation (within AEMT scope).
Hyperventilation to EtCO₂ 30–35 mmHg.
The only open chest injury that requires a three-sided occlusive dressing (not four)
Open/sucking chest wound
Priapism in a trauma patient is pathognomonic for what level of injury?
Spinal cord injury (usually sacral or cauda equina)
The fluid of choice for burn resuscitation in Utah AEMT protocol.
Lactated Ringer’s
Author of 1984.
George Orwell
The pressure (in mmHg) required in a pelvic binder to effectively reduce an open-book pelvic fracture.
Approximately 180–200 mmHg
Minimum SBP goal in adult TBI patients with suspected elevated ICP (per BTF guidelines).
≥110 mmHg
Signs of flail chest on physical exam.
Paradoxical motion of a chest wall segment
Permissive hypotension target SBP in penetrating torso trauma without TBI.
90 mmHg (or palpable radial pulse)
The burn depth that involves dermis and blisters but spares appendages.
Deep partial-thickness (deep 2nd degree)
Year the Berlin Wall fell.
1989
The only circumstance in which an AEMT in Utah may use TXA (tranexamic acid) for trauma in the prehospital setting (2025 protocol).
Physician order at the scene or via online medical control (not standing order for AEMTs)
The two herniation syndromes and their hallmark pupil findings.
Uncal → ipsilateral dilated pupil; Central → bilateral fixed mid-position pupils
The minimum number of ribs that must be broken in two or more places to create a flail segment.
3 (or more) consecutive ribs
The three stages of shock in order: compensated, decompensated, irreversible.
A: Compensated → progressive/decompensated → irreversible
Minimum TBSA that qualifies as a major burn requiring trauma center referral (ABA criteria).
≥20% TBSA in adults
Painter of “The Starry Night”.
Vincent van Gogh
The “lethal triad” of trauma that uncontrolled hemorrhage directly worsens (name all 3).
Hypothermia, Acidosis, Coagulopathy
The formula for cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP).
CPP = MAP − ICP
The injury pattern seen in high-speed deceleration with seatbelt use: Chance fracture + mesenteric tear + lumbar spine.
A: Seatbelt syndrome
The shock index threshold that predicts need for massive transfusion.
A: >0.9 (HR/SBP)
The two inhalation injury findings that mandate immediate intubation.
Stridor, carbonaceous sputum, singed nasal hairs, facial burns, hoarseness, etc. (classic: stridor + enclosed space)
Only bird that can fly backwards and hover in place.
Hummingbird
The two specific anatomic locations where a junctional tourniquet (e.g., JETT or SAM-JT) may be placed that a limb tourniquet cannot reach.
Axilla and inguinal crease/high groin
The only osmotic agent an AEMT may administer for suspected herniation in Utah (2025).
3% hypertonic saline (250 mL bolus)
The exact Utah destination protocol for a patient with a penetrating injury to the chest who is in cardiac arrest.
A: Transport to the closest ED capable of resuscitative thoracotomy (Level I or II trauma center preferred, but closest if <10 min)
The only vasopressor Utah AEMTs may administer for hemorrhagic shock refractory to fluid and blood (physician order only).
Push-dose epinephrine (10 mcg doses)
The only analgesic Utah AEMTs may give IV for major burns without medical control order.
A: Fentanyl (standing order up to 100 mcg)
Only planet in our solar system that rotates clockwise on its axis.
Venus
The exact conversion time after which a tourniquet left in place generally causes irreversible tissue ischemia in a normothermic adult limb (cite the classic military study time).
14 hours (CoTCCC/Iraq–Afghanistan data)
The Monroe-Kellie doctrine states that the skull contains three things—name them.
Brain tissue, blood, CSF
The only rib fractures that independently increase mortality by >50% in blunt trauma.
First or second rib fractures (indicate high-energy mechanism)
The temperature below which trauma patients have a 100% mortality rate if uncorrected in the presence of acidosis and coagulopathy.
<34°C (93.2°F)
The preferred IV fluid for burn shock resuscitation in Utah AEMT protocol (same as trauma).
Lactated Ringers
Only movie to win all five major Oscars (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay) in the same year. Hint:
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The exact dose and route of TXA that would be given if an AEMT receives a physician order for it in traumatic hemorrhage (Utah 2025 physician-order only).
2 grams IV over 10 minutes (or 1 g if <60 kg)
The only benzodiazepine Utah AEMTs may use for post-traumatic seizure prophylaxis in severe TBI (standing order).
Midazolam (2–5 mg IV/IM)
Muffled or distant heart sounds in a hypotensive trauma patient with JVD and clear lungs should make you suspect this condition.
Pericardial tamponade
The exact 1:1:1 ratio volume equivalence when using whole blood instead of component therapy in damage-control resuscitation.
1 unit whole blood ≈ 1 PRBC + 1 plasma (no platelets needed)
The one burn injury that always requires transport to a burn center, regardless of TBSA percentage.
Burns involving the face, hands, feet, genitalia, perineum, or major joints
Only letter that does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of elements (element names or symbols).
J