PHTLS ACTUAL 2026 STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
✔✔Hypoperfusion will affect which of the following organs first?
Select one:
a.
Kidney
b.
GI tract
c.
Brain
d.
Liver - ✔✔Brain
✔✔EMS responds to an adult barista with partial-thickness burns to the abdomen and
right leg, sustained from a cooking accident. Initial treatment of this injury would include:
Select one:
a.
Apply antibiotic ointment
b.
Run copious amounts of room temperature water over the burn
c.
Cover burned area with dry sterile dressings
d.
Cover burned area with moist sterile dressings - ✔✔Cover burned area with a dry sterile
dressing
✔✔Which best describes the goal of airway management in a trauma patient?
Select one:
a.
Perform complex airway maneuvers
b.
Perform a surgical cricothyrotomy
c.
Provide for adequate exchange of oxygen and CO2
,d.
Perform RSI - ✔✔Provide for adequate exchange of oxygen and CO2
✔✔When using a selective spinal immobilization protocol, which of the following
findings indicate the need for immobilization?
Select one:
a.
Past history of spinal injury
b.
Being an unrestrained passenger in a motor vehicle crash
c.
Being ambulatory at the scene
d.
An associated femoral shaft fracture with severe pain - ✔✔An associated femoral shaft
fracture with severe pain
✔✔What is the most common cause of airway obstruction in the unresponsive trauma
patient?
Select one:
a.
Blood
b.
Teeth
c.
Tongue
d.
Vomitus - ✔✔Tongue
✔✔A patient presents with a blunt trauma injury to the chest. On exam, he has absent
breath sounds on one side of his chest and respiratory distress. Which additional sign
would indicate that the patient has a tension pneumothorax?
Select one:
a.
Distended neck veins
b.
, Inspiratory wheezing
c.
narrowed pulses pressure
d.
Tracheal deviation towards the side of injury - ✔✔Distended Neck veins
✔✔Which of the following is the best indicator of shock in a trauma patient?
Select one:
a.
Depressed level of cognition
b.
Heart rate of 80
c.
Respirations of 18
d.
GCS of 15 - ✔✔Depressed level of cognition
✔✔When managing a pediatric patient, pre-hospital providers should do all of the
following EXCEPT:
Select one:
a.
Use appropriately sized equipment
b.
Frequently reassess the patient
c.
Preserve body heat
d.
Use half the adult dose or medication administration - ✔✔Use half the adult dose or
medication administration
✔✔Hemostatic agents should be used for excessive bleeding when direct pressure
alone does not work. The proper way to use most hemostatic agents is which of the
following?
Select one:
a.
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
✔✔Hypoperfusion will affect which of the following organs first?
Select one:
a.
Kidney
b.
GI tract
c.
Brain
d.
Liver - ✔✔Brain
✔✔EMS responds to an adult barista with partial-thickness burns to the abdomen and
right leg, sustained from a cooking accident. Initial treatment of this injury would include:
Select one:
a.
Apply antibiotic ointment
b.
Run copious amounts of room temperature water over the burn
c.
Cover burned area with dry sterile dressings
d.
Cover burned area with moist sterile dressings - ✔✔Cover burned area with a dry sterile
dressing
✔✔Which best describes the goal of airway management in a trauma patient?
Select one:
a.
Perform complex airway maneuvers
b.
Perform a surgical cricothyrotomy
c.
Provide for adequate exchange of oxygen and CO2
,d.
Perform RSI - ✔✔Provide for adequate exchange of oxygen and CO2
✔✔When using a selective spinal immobilization protocol, which of the following
findings indicate the need for immobilization?
Select one:
a.
Past history of spinal injury
b.
Being an unrestrained passenger in a motor vehicle crash
c.
Being ambulatory at the scene
d.
An associated femoral shaft fracture with severe pain - ✔✔An associated femoral shaft
fracture with severe pain
✔✔What is the most common cause of airway obstruction in the unresponsive trauma
patient?
Select one:
a.
Blood
b.
Teeth
c.
Tongue
d.
Vomitus - ✔✔Tongue
✔✔A patient presents with a blunt trauma injury to the chest. On exam, he has absent
breath sounds on one side of his chest and respiratory distress. Which additional sign
would indicate that the patient has a tension pneumothorax?
Select one:
a.
Distended neck veins
b.
, Inspiratory wheezing
c.
narrowed pulses pressure
d.
Tracheal deviation towards the side of injury - ✔✔Distended Neck veins
✔✔Which of the following is the best indicator of shock in a trauma patient?
Select one:
a.
Depressed level of cognition
b.
Heart rate of 80
c.
Respirations of 18
d.
GCS of 15 - ✔✔Depressed level of cognition
✔✔When managing a pediatric patient, pre-hospital providers should do all of the
following EXCEPT:
Select one:
a.
Use appropriately sized equipment
b.
Frequently reassess the patient
c.
Preserve body heat
d.
Use half the adult dose or medication administration - ✔✔Use half the adult dose or
medication administration
✔✔Hemostatic agents should be used for excessive bleeding when direct pressure
alone does not work. The proper way to use most hemostatic agents is which of the
following?
Select one:
a.
