NREMT Advanced EMT

Category - Trauma

Mark is a football player that has just been hit by another football player three times his size. He is severely hurt and displays the classic sign of a flail chest. What is this classic sign?
  1. Bi-chest movements
  2. Paradoxical chest movements
  3. Complex chest movements
  4. None of the above
Explanation
Answer - B - Paradoxical chest movement is a classic sign of a flail chest. Flail chest occurs when three or more ribs are fractured in multiple places, causing a floating segment and reducing the stability of the chest wall. During inspiration, the negative pressures within the chest wall cause the flail segment to suck in. On exhalation, the positive intrathoracic pressures cause the flail segment to bow out.
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