A 4-year-old female sustains blunt abdominal trauma; respirations are labored, tachycardia, and the abdomen is sunken. What should you suspect?

Get ready for the Paramedic Readiness Exam 5. Study with multiple-choice questions, detailed explanations, and effective strategies. Enhance your exam preparedness today!

Multiple Choice

A 4-year-old female sustains blunt abdominal trauma; respirations are labored, tachycardia, and the abdomen is sunken. What should you suspect?

Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture with herniation is the key idea. After blunt impact, a tear in the diaphragm can allow abdominal organs to slide into the chest, crowding the thoracic space and severely limiting lung expansion. That’s why the child has labored respirations and tachycardia—the lungs aren’t ventilating well because abdominal contents are occupying part of the chest. The abdomen being sunken supports this idea, since contents have moved upward and the abdomen appears less full. Abdominal organ injuries like splenic laceration or hepatic rupture typically cause tenderness, guarding, or signs of peritonitis, not primary respiratory compromise from chest-involved mechanics. Bladder rupture follows pelvic trauma and presents with urinary symptoms or suprapubic signs rather than acute chest/diaphragmatic involvement. What to do clinically: secure the airway and provide high-flow oxygen, monitor closely, and transport rapidly to a trauma center while preparing for potential chest/abdomen management.

Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture with herniation is the key idea. After blunt impact, a tear in the diaphragm can allow abdominal organs to slide into the chest, crowding the thoracic space and severely limiting lung expansion. That’s why the child has labored respirations and tachycardia—the lungs aren’t ventilating well because abdominal contents are occupying part of the chest. The abdomen being sunken supports this idea, since contents have moved upward and the abdomen appears less full.

Abdominal organ injuries like splenic laceration or hepatic rupture typically cause tenderness, guarding, or signs of peritonitis, not primary respiratory compromise from chest-involved mechanics. Bladder rupture follows pelvic trauma and presents with urinary symptoms or suprapubic signs rather than acute chest/diaphragmatic involvement.

What to do clinically: secure the airway and provide high-flow oxygen, monitor closely, and transport rapidly to a trauma center while preparing for potential chest/abdomen management.

More practice questions