Question

You are treating a 10-year-old patient after a motor vehicle crash. The patient is unresponsive and flexes his arms at the elbow in response to a painful stimulus. An endotracheal tube is in place with position confirmed. You are ventilating using a resuscitation bag with oxygen, and the child has an SPO2 of 95% and good chest excursion bilaterally. The blood pressure is 130/70 mm Hg, and the heart rate is 90/min with good perfusion. You have established intravenous access. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate at this time?

a.Obtain a CT scan of the head and neck
b.Begin manual hyperventilation
c.Provide continuous positive airway pressure
d.Give an intravenous bolus of mannitol

Answer 1

The most appropriate action would be to obtain a CT scan of the head and neck.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this scenario, the most appropriate action would be to a. Obtain a CT scan of the head and neck. The patient is unresponsive and demonstrating abnormal flexion in response to pain, which indicates a potential head injury. A CT scan of the head and neck would provide important diagnostic information about any potential brain or spinal cord injury that may have occurred during the motor vehicle crash.