Chest Trauma MCQ Quiz | Trauma & Critical Care

Welcome to the Chest Trauma quiz, designed for MBBS students specializing in Trauma & Critical Care. This comprehensive quiz features 25 multiple-choice questions covering the essential aspects of thoracic injuries, from initial assessment to definitive management. Topics include pneumothorax, hemothorax, flail chest, cardiac tamponade, and major vascular injuries. This assessment will test your ability to recognize life-threatening conditions, understand their pathophysiology, and select appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions based on ATLS guidelines. Challenge your knowledge and reinforce your learning in this critical area of emergency medicine. After completing the quiz, you can review your score, see the correct answers highlighted, and download a PDF copy of all questions and answers for your future reference and study.

1. A 30-year-old male presents to the ER after a motor vehicle accident with severe respiratory distress, hypotension, and distended neck veins. On examination, there is tracheal deviation to the left and absent breath sounds on the right. What is the most appropriate immediate intervention?

2. Which of the following defines a massive hemothorax requiring urgent surgical thoracotomy?

3. A patient involved in a crush injury has paradoxical chest wall movement. This condition is known as flail chest. The primary cause of hypoxia in this patient is usually:

4. The classic components of Beck’s triad for cardiac tamponade are:

5. What is the appropriate initial management for an open pneumothorax (sucking chest wound)?

6. A widened mediastinum on a chest X-ray following a high-speed deceleration injury is most suggestive of:

7. The definitive diagnosis of a tracheobronchial injury is best made by which of the following?

8. Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture occurs most commonly on which side?

9. What is the primary goal in the management of simple rib fractures without a flail segment?

10. The anatomical landmark for performing needle thoracentesis for a tension pneumothorax is:

11. The “safe triangle” for chest tube insertion is bordered by the anterior border of the latissimus dorsi, the lateral border of the pectoralis major, and which other landmark?

12. Which of the following is the most common, potentially lethal chest injury?

13. A patient presents with crepitus in the neck and chest wall after blunt trauma. A chest X-ray shows air in the mediastinum. Which injury should be strongly suspected?

14. Electrical alternans on an ECG in a trauma patient is pathognomonic for:

15. A fracture of the first or second rib is a significant finding because it:

16. The “deep sulcus” sign on a supine chest X-ray is indicative of:

17. Which of these life-threatening chest injuries is NOT typically identified during the primary survey of an ATLS protocol?

18. The most common arrhythmia associated with blunt cardiac injury is:

19. A patient with a sternal fracture should be closely monitored for:

20. What is the key pathophysiological difference between a simple pneumothorax and a tension pneumothorax?

21. In a stable patient, a small, simple pneumothorax (e.g., <20% of the hemithorax) can often be managed with:

22. Kussmaul’s sign, a paradoxical rise in jugular venous pressure on inspiration, can be seen in which traumatic chest condition?

23. The gold standard for diagnosing a traumatic aortic injury in a hemodynamically stable patient is:

24. What is the most likely diagnosis in a trauma patient with bowel sounds heard in the left chest?

25. A patient with a persistent large air leak from a chest tube after blunt trauma, despite proper placement and suction, should be evaluated for: