Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support
(PHTLS) – Emergency Medical Services –
Comprehensive Practice Questions with
Answers and Rationales
Introduction:
This document contains a comprehensive collection of PHTLS-
style practice questions with detailed answers and rationales
covering core prehospital trauma care concepts. Topics include
airway management, shock, hemorrhage control, traumatic
brain injury, burns, spinal motion restriction, pediatric and
geriatric trauma, and the XABCDE assessment approach. The
material is well suited for EMS exam preparation, skills
refreshment, and reinforcing clinical decision-making in real-
world trauma scenarios.
Exam Questions and Answers with Rationales:
Why might it be more difficult to deal with an airway
obstruction in a child?
A. Children have longer tracheas.
,B. Children have larger heads and tongues so there is a greater
potential for airway obstruction.
C. Children have smaller heads, so there is less room to clear
the obstruction.
D. A child's epiglottis is smaller and stiffer than an adult's. ---
Correct Answer---Question 3: B
Children have larger heads and tongues as compared to an
adult so there is a greater potential for airway obstruction in a
pediatric patient. You must pay special attention to the proper
positioning of a pediatric patient to maintain a patent airway.
Why might you consider early mechanical ventilation via bag-
mask device in a geriatric patient?
A. Shorter tracheas in geriatric patients create the need for
ventilation assistance.
B. Laxity of the rib cage makes hyperventilation more likely.
C. Geriatric patients have greatly limited physiologic reserve.
D. Geriatric patients have a greater alveolar surface area of
the lungs. ---Correct Answer---Question 4: C
Early mechanical ventilation via bag mask device or advanced
airway measures should be considered in geriatric trauma
patients because of their greatly limited physiologic reserve.
,You have been performing ongoing management on a 35-year-
old female patient who sustained thoracic trauma when a car
hit her as she crossed the street. Originally, your electronic
monitoring devices all produce results consistent with your
patient's clinical condition. However, en route the trauma
center, the monitors start to differ from your patient's current
clinical condition each time you reassess. How should you
handle this situation?
A. Treat the patient's condition, not the monitor results.
B. Continue to reassess the patient and record the results for
the trauma center.
C. Treat your patient based on the test results.
D. Stop testing and wait until you arrive at the trauma center
for them to perform an assessment. ---Correct Answer---
Question 1: A
If there are inconsistent data from electronic monitoring
devices, reassess to be sure the monitor matches the patient's
current clinical condition. However, it is most important to
treat the patient, not the monitor, so use other signs and
symptoms of potential patient deterioration.
You have determined that you are going to need to perform
orotracheal intubation on a 50-year-old male motor vehicle
, crash (MVC) critically injured trauma patient due to prolonged
transport time. What do you need to do first?
A. Preoxygenate to maximize oxygen saturation.
B. Place the patient in a "sniffing"position.
C. Clear the mouth of any obstructions.
D. Prepare the patient for immediate transport. ---Correct
Answer---Question 2: A
Before insertion of any invasive airway, the patient is
preoxygenated with a high concentration of oxygen using a
simple airway adjunct or manual airway procedure.
You are oxygenating a pediatric patient using a properly fitted
oxygen mask and the "squeeze-release-release" timing
technique. As you watch for the rise and fall of the chest, you
check end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2) monitoring aiming to maintain
what level?
A. Between 40 and 45 mm Hg
B. Between 30 and 35 mm Hg
C. Between 35 and 40 mm Hg
D. The level is irrelevant because capnography is inaccurate in
pediatric patients. ---Correct Answer---Question 3: C
The proper level to maintain is between 35 and 40 mm Hg.
(PHTLS) – Emergency Medical Services –
Comprehensive Practice Questions with
Answers and Rationales
Introduction:
This document contains a comprehensive collection of PHTLS-
style practice questions with detailed answers and rationales
covering core prehospital trauma care concepts. Topics include
airway management, shock, hemorrhage control, traumatic
brain injury, burns, spinal motion restriction, pediatric and
geriatric trauma, and the XABCDE assessment approach. The
material is well suited for EMS exam preparation, skills
refreshment, and reinforcing clinical decision-making in real-
world trauma scenarios.
Exam Questions and Answers with Rationales:
Why might it be more difficult to deal with an airway
obstruction in a child?
A. Children have longer tracheas.
,B. Children have larger heads and tongues so there is a greater
potential for airway obstruction.
C. Children have smaller heads, so there is less room to clear
the obstruction.
D. A child's epiglottis is smaller and stiffer than an adult's. ---
Correct Answer---Question 3: B
Children have larger heads and tongues as compared to an
adult so there is a greater potential for airway obstruction in a
pediatric patient. You must pay special attention to the proper
positioning of a pediatric patient to maintain a patent airway.
Why might you consider early mechanical ventilation via bag-
mask device in a geriatric patient?
A. Shorter tracheas in geriatric patients create the need for
ventilation assistance.
B. Laxity of the rib cage makes hyperventilation more likely.
C. Geriatric patients have greatly limited physiologic reserve.
D. Geriatric patients have a greater alveolar surface area of
the lungs. ---Correct Answer---Question 4: C
Early mechanical ventilation via bag mask device or advanced
airway measures should be considered in geriatric trauma
patients because of their greatly limited physiologic reserve.
,You have been performing ongoing management on a 35-year-
old female patient who sustained thoracic trauma when a car
hit her as she crossed the street. Originally, your electronic
monitoring devices all produce results consistent with your
patient's clinical condition. However, en route the trauma
center, the monitors start to differ from your patient's current
clinical condition each time you reassess. How should you
handle this situation?
A. Treat the patient's condition, not the monitor results.
B. Continue to reassess the patient and record the results for
the trauma center.
C. Treat your patient based on the test results.
D. Stop testing and wait until you arrive at the trauma center
for them to perform an assessment. ---Correct Answer---
Question 1: A
If there are inconsistent data from electronic monitoring
devices, reassess to be sure the monitor matches the patient's
current clinical condition. However, it is most important to
treat the patient, not the monitor, so use other signs and
symptoms of potential patient deterioration.
You have determined that you are going to need to perform
orotracheal intubation on a 50-year-old male motor vehicle
, crash (MVC) critically injured trauma patient due to prolonged
transport time. What do you need to do first?
A. Preoxygenate to maximize oxygen saturation.
B. Place the patient in a "sniffing"position.
C. Clear the mouth of any obstructions.
D. Prepare the patient for immediate transport. ---Correct
Answer---Question 2: A
Before insertion of any invasive airway, the patient is
preoxygenated with a high concentration of oxygen using a
simple airway adjunct or manual airway procedure.
You are oxygenating a pediatric patient using a properly fitted
oxygen mask and the "squeeze-release-release" timing
technique. As you watch for the rise and fall of the chest, you
check end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2) monitoring aiming to maintain
what level?
A. Between 40 and 45 mm Hg
B. Between 30 and 35 mm Hg
C. Between 35 and 40 mm Hg
D. The level is irrelevant because capnography is inaccurate in
pediatric patients. ---Correct Answer---Question 3: C
The proper level to maintain is between 35 and 40 mm Hg.
