Hemorrhage & Shock
This is the immediate first step for any life-threatening external bleeding.
What is Direct Pressure (or Tourniquet)?
This is the minimum GCS score at which a paramedic should consider a definitive airway (intubation).
What is 8 or less?
Using the Rule of Nines, this is the percentage of BSA for a patient with burns to their entire back.
18
In a frontal collision, this "effect" occurs when a patient’s internal organs continue moving forward after the body stops.
What is Inertia (or Shearing)?
Unlike hypovolemic shock, neurogenic shock presents with this heart rate abnormality.
bradycardia
This type of shock is caused by a loss of blood volume, leading to decreased preload and cardiac output.
What is Hypovolemic Shock?
This triad—hypertension, bradycardia, and irregular respirations—signifies increasing intracranial pressure.
What is Cushing’s Triad?
his formula is used to calculate the fluid resuscitation volume for a burn patient.
What is the Parkland Formula ($4 \text{ mL} \times \text{kg} \times \% \text{BSA}$)?
This is the primary triage color for a patient who is not breathing but gains a pulse/respirations after an airway maneuver.
What is Red (Immediate)?
This is the primary reason the skin feels warm and dry below the level of a neurogenic spinal injury.
What is massive vasodilation (loss of sympathetic tone)?
This clinical strategy involves keeping the SBP around 80–90 mmHg to prevent dislodging internal clots.
What is Permissive Hypotension
This type of brain bleed is typically venous and often occurs in elderly patients over a longer period of time.
What is a Subdural Hematoma?
This is the most life-threatening complication of a crush injury, where muscle breakdown products damage the kidneys.
What is Rhabdomyolysis?
This is the most common cause of "Secondary" blast injuries.
What is flying debris or shrapnel?
This is the "Pressor of Choice" for neurogenic shock when fluid boluses fail to improve MAP.
What is Norepinephrine (or Levophed)?
This is the "Lethal Triad" of trauma that paramedics must work to prevent during transport.
: What is Acidosis, Coagulopathy, and Hypothermia?
A patient with a spinal injury who is hypotensive, bradycardic, and warm/dry to the touch is likely in this.
What is Neurogenic Shock?
this electrolyte, released during a crush injury, can cause peaked T-waves and cardiac arrest.
What is Potassium (Hyperkalemia)?
In a fall, this distance is considered a significant mechanism for an adult patient.
What is 20 feet (or three times the patient's height)?
This term describes abnormal posturing where the arms are flexed inward toward the "core," indicating a brainstem injury.
What is Decorticate Posturing?
This antifibrinolytic drug is administered to prevent the body from breaking down clots too quickly.
What is Tranexamic Acid (TXA)?
This specific fracture of the C2 vertebra is often caused by hyperextension of the neck.
What is a Hangman’s Fracture?
This is the medical term for the "6 P's" (pain, pallor, pulselessness, etc.) often found in crushed or fractured limbs.
What is Compartment Syndrome?
Why are geriatric patients more prone to subdural hematomas even from minor falls?
What is Brain Atrophy (stretching the bridging veins)?
his involuntary, painful erection can be a clinical sign of a complete spinal cord injury in male patients.
What is Priapism?