SAQ 302 – Retrieval Medicine – penetrating floor-of-mouth injury

Marked out of 10.00

You are working with a prehospital retrieval service and fly 150 km by rotary wing aircraft to an 18-year-old man injured in a motor vehicle crash. His observations are shown below. He has no stridor but mild respiratory distress.

Observation	Value
Temperature	36.3 C
Heart rate	110 beats/min
Blood pressure	158/63 mmHg
Respiratory rate	22/min
Oxygen saturation	98%

Clinical photograph of penetrating submandibular/floor-of-mouth foreign body. — Clinical photograph

Lateral neck x-ray showing the penetrating foreign body. — Lateral neck x-ray

Using the clinical photograph and x-ray, describe the key findings and the immediate acute complications of concern.

(Marked out of 4.0)

/ 4

You plan to transfer without securing the airway. Compare rotary wing and road transfer for this case, including one advantage and one disadvantage of each.

(Marked out of 3.0)

Mode	Advantage	Disadvantage
Rotary wing
Road transfer

/ 3

During air transfer he has a respiratory arrest, cannot be ventilated effectively with bag-valve-mask despite adjuncts, and cannot land for 18 minutes. Outline two (2) in-flight management options.

(Marked out of 3.0)

/ 3

Total Score: 0 / 10

Percentage: 0%