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ATLS Module Practice Exam Questions with
100% Verified Answers 2025 A+
After ensuring a patent airway and adequate ventilation,
trauma team members must carefully evaluate the patient's
circulatory status for early manifestations of shock, such as:
A) atrial fibrillation
B) unequal pupillary response
C) decreased respiratory rate
D) tachycardia and cutaneous vasoconstriction
D) tachycardia and cutaneous vasoconstriction
A 40-year-old male is involved in a motor vehicle collision.
He has no obvious torso or extremity deformities. He is
hypotensive in the emergency department. Which of the
following tests can accurately and rapidly help identify the
cause of shock?
A) MRI abdomen
B) abdominal x-ray
C) FAST exam
D) hemoglobin and hematocrit
C) FAST exam
Which of the following signs is characteristic of Class III
shock?
A) pulse rate < 100
B) increased pulse pressure
C) urine output > 30 mL/hr
D) decreased systolic blood pressure
D) decreased systolic blood pressure
A 24-year-old male arrives at your ED already intubated. He
has significant crepitus of the right chest wall and
diminished breath sounds. You place a chest tube and note a
large amount of bubbling in the water seal chamber. His
oxygen saturation remains at 85%, and he has a good CO2
return on capnography. The most likely cause of low oxygen
,2
saturation is:
A) hemothorax
B) tension pneumothorax
C) tracheobronchial tree injury
D) pericardial tamponade
C) tracheobronchial tree injury
T/F: The vast majority of throacic injuries (blunt and
penetrating trauma) require operative intervention.
False;
Less than 10% of blunt chest injuries and only 15% to 30% of
penetrating chest injuries require operative intervention (typically
thoracoscopy or thoracotomy). Most patients who sustain thoracic
trauma can be treated by technical procedures within the
capabilities of clinicians trained in ATLS.
A patient with a simple pneumothorax...
A) should always be treated with a large caliber (#36 or #40
French) chest tube
B) may be watched for progression if pneumothorax is small
(<15%), and patient is stable and does not require transfer
C) can safely be placed on positive-pressure ventilation
D) does not require a follow up chest x-ray after tube
insertion
B) may be watched for progression if pneumothorax is small
(<15%), and patient is stable and does not require transfer
A 38-year-old male presents to the ED after a head-on, high-
speed collision. His vital signs are: HR 130, BP 156/90, RR 20,
and O2 sat 92% on 15 liters of oxygen. His voice is raspy,
and he complains of chest pain that radiates to his back. A
chest x-ray shows a widened mediastinum, obliteration of the
aortic knob, and depression of the left mainstem bronchus.
You should:
A) administer agents to manage his pain and lower his heart
rate and blood pressure
B) start 2 large-bore IVs and rapidly infuse 1500 mL of normal
saline
, 3
C) place bilateral chest tubes
D) move the patient to the intensive care unit and schedule
an arteriogram in the morning
A) administer agents to manage his pain and lower his heart rate
and blood pressure
The cause of hypoxia associated with flail chest is:
A) paradoxical motion of the chest wall due to rib fractures
B) soft tissue crepitus with escape of oxygen into the tissues
C) associated cartilage disruption
D) pulmonary contusion
D) pulmonary contusion
A patient arrives in your hospital after a fall from 20 feet,
landing on his right side. He has been intubated, and two
large-bore IVs have been started. His oxygen saturation is
83%, he has a good capnography waveform and significant
deformity to the right chest wall. He has no breath sounds on
the right. His blood pressure is 75/30. Your next step should
be to:
A) replace the endotracheal tube
B) readjust the endotracheal tube
C) perform a needle decompression or finger thoracostomy
on the right side
D) perform a FAST examination
C) perform a needle decompression or finger thoracostomy on the
right side
Which of the following is a radiographic sign of blunt aortic
injury?
A) depression of left and right mainstem bronchus
B) narrowed mediastinum
C) depression of only left mainstem bronchus
D) midline trachea
C) depression of only left mainstem bronchus
You have completed a secondary survey on a patient who fell
from a standing height. You note exquisite tenderness
posterolaterally on the left chest wall at approximately the
ATLS Module Practice Exam Questions with
100% Verified Answers 2025 A+
After ensuring a patent airway and adequate ventilation,
trauma team members must carefully evaluate the patient's
circulatory status for early manifestations of shock, such as:
A) atrial fibrillation
B) unequal pupillary response
C) decreased respiratory rate
D) tachycardia and cutaneous vasoconstriction
D) tachycardia and cutaneous vasoconstriction
A 40-year-old male is involved in a motor vehicle collision.
He has no obvious torso or extremity deformities. He is
hypotensive in the emergency department. Which of the
following tests can accurately and rapidly help identify the
cause of shock?
A) MRI abdomen
B) abdominal x-ray
C) FAST exam
D) hemoglobin and hematocrit
C) FAST exam
Which of the following signs is characteristic of Class III
shock?
A) pulse rate < 100
B) increased pulse pressure
C) urine output > 30 mL/hr
D) decreased systolic blood pressure
D) decreased systolic blood pressure
A 24-year-old male arrives at your ED already intubated. He
has significant crepitus of the right chest wall and
diminished breath sounds. You place a chest tube and note a
large amount of bubbling in the water seal chamber. His
oxygen saturation remains at 85%, and he has a good CO2
return on capnography. The most likely cause of low oxygen
,2
saturation is:
A) hemothorax
B) tension pneumothorax
C) tracheobronchial tree injury
D) pericardial tamponade
C) tracheobronchial tree injury
T/F: The vast majority of throacic injuries (blunt and
penetrating trauma) require operative intervention.
False;
Less than 10% of blunt chest injuries and only 15% to 30% of
penetrating chest injuries require operative intervention (typically
thoracoscopy or thoracotomy). Most patients who sustain thoracic
trauma can be treated by technical procedures within the
capabilities of clinicians trained in ATLS.
A patient with a simple pneumothorax...
A) should always be treated with a large caliber (#36 or #40
French) chest tube
B) may be watched for progression if pneumothorax is small
(<15%), and patient is stable and does not require transfer
C) can safely be placed on positive-pressure ventilation
D) does not require a follow up chest x-ray after tube
insertion
B) may be watched for progression if pneumothorax is small
(<15%), and patient is stable and does not require transfer
A 38-year-old male presents to the ED after a head-on, high-
speed collision. His vital signs are: HR 130, BP 156/90, RR 20,
and O2 sat 92% on 15 liters of oxygen. His voice is raspy,
and he complains of chest pain that radiates to his back. A
chest x-ray shows a widened mediastinum, obliteration of the
aortic knob, and depression of the left mainstem bronchus.
You should:
A) administer agents to manage his pain and lower his heart
rate and blood pressure
B) start 2 large-bore IVs and rapidly infuse 1500 mL of normal
saline
, 3
C) place bilateral chest tubes
D) move the patient to the intensive care unit and schedule
an arteriogram in the morning
A) administer agents to manage his pain and lower his heart rate
and blood pressure
The cause of hypoxia associated with flail chest is:
A) paradoxical motion of the chest wall due to rib fractures
B) soft tissue crepitus with escape of oxygen into the tissues
C) associated cartilage disruption
D) pulmonary contusion
D) pulmonary contusion
A patient arrives in your hospital after a fall from 20 feet,
landing on his right side. He has been intubated, and two
large-bore IVs have been started. His oxygen saturation is
83%, he has a good capnography waveform and significant
deformity to the right chest wall. He has no breath sounds on
the right. His blood pressure is 75/30. Your next step should
be to:
A) replace the endotracheal tube
B) readjust the endotracheal tube
C) perform a needle decompression or finger thoracostomy
on the right side
D) perform a FAST examination
C) perform a needle decompression or finger thoracostomy on the
right side
Which of the following is a radiographic sign of blunt aortic
injury?
A) depression of left and right mainstem bronchus
B) narrowed mediastinum
C) depression of only left mainstem bronchus
D) midline trachea
C) depression of only left mainstem bronchus
You have completed a secondary survey on a patient who fell
from a standing height. You note exquisite tenderness
posterolaterally on the left chest wall at approximately the
