ATLS Exam Questions & Answers 2026 (11–20)

Question 1

What is the most common cause of Brown-Séquard syndrome?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Spinal cord injuries. Traumatic spinal cord injuries, such as those caused by firearms, knives, and car accidents, are the most frequent causes of Brown-Séquard syndrome.

Question 2

A 25-year-old man, injured in a motor vehicular crash, is admitted to the emergency department.

His pupils react sluggishly and his eyes open to painful stimuli only. He does not follow commands, but he does moan periodically. His right arm is deformed and does not respond to painful stimulus; however, his left hand reaches purposefully toward the painful stimulus. Both legs are stiffly extended.

His GCS score is:

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

9. See the GCS scoring table below.

His eyes open to painful stimuli only, making E = 2.

He does not follow commands, but he does moan periodically, making V = 2.

His left hand reaches purposefully toward a painful stimulus, making M = 5.

His GCS score is, therefore, 2+2+5 = 9

GCS	E	V	M
1	No response	No response	No response to pain
2	Eye opening wth pain	Incomprehensible sounds	Extension with pain
3	Eye opening on command	Inappropriate words	Flexion with pain
4	Spontaneous eye opening	Confused	Withdrawal from pain
5	-	Oriented	Localizes pain
6	-	-	Obeys commands

Question 3

Is information obtained from bystanders about the patient valuable?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Yes. Bystander observations can provide clinicians with information about the mechanism of injury, which can help them identify injuries that may not be immediately obvious.

Question 4

What should be the primary concern when a patient's spinal cord has been injured?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Respiratory failure. Potential respiratory failure should be the main concern when a patient's spine is hurt. Intercostal muscle paralysis can result in hypoventilation.

Question 5

Which of the following incomplete spinal cord injury syndromes is characterized by paralysis or severe weakness of the upper extremities, but less severe or no motor dysfunction in the lower extremities?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Central cord syndrome. Specific presentations of incomplete spinal injury are central cord syndrome, Brown-Séquard syndrome, and anterior cord syndrome. Paralysis or severe weakness of the upper extremities, but less severe or no motor dysfunction in the lower extremities indicates central cord syndrome. There is also loss of pain sensation in upper extremities, and less pain dysfunction in the lower extremities.

Question 6

Should all patients with radiographic evidence of injury and all those with neurological deficits be considered to have an unstable spinal injury?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Yes. It is not always easy to assess the stability of a specific type of injury, and even medical professionals may disagree. Therefore, it should be assumed that all patients with neurological deficits and radiographic evidence of injury have unstable spinal injuries.

Question 7

Regarding frostbite injuries, which of the following measures is part of the initial treatment?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Rapid rewarming of the body part in circulating warm water.. MANAGEMENT OF FROSTBITE AND NONFREEZING COLD INJURIES

Treatment should begin immediately to decrease the duration of tissue freezing. Do not attempt rewarming if there is a risk of refreezing. Replace constricting, damp clothing with warm blankets, and give the patietn hot fluids by mouth, if he or she is able to drink. Place the injured part in circulating water at a constant 40C (104F) until pink color and perfusion return (usually within 20 or 30 minutes).

Excessive dry heat can cause a burn injury, as the limb is usually insensate.

Do not rub or massage the area. Rewarming can be extremely painflul, and adquate analgesics are essential.

Warming of large areas canresult in reperfusion syndrome, with acidosis, hyperkalemia, and local swelling; thereore, monitor the patient´s cardiac status and peripheral perfusion during rewarming.

Question 8

Lacerations are open injuries to skin and, in some cases, underlying tissues that result from a cutting of the tissues. They are categorized as either

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Linear or stellate. Lacerations are open injuries to skin and, in some cases, underlying tissues that result from a cutting of the tissues. They are categorized as either linear or stellate.

A linear laceration, also called an incision, is an injury in which the cut in the tissues is in a straight line, such as a cut from a knife. The term stellate laceration refers to a starlike laceration, and is a jagged cut in the tissues.

Stellate lacerations are commonly the result of blunt trauma that compresses the skin against underlying bony prominences, which cause a jagged or nonlinear laceration occur from the inside out.

Question 9

When the EET has passed the glottic opening, where should it be placed?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

2 to 3 cm below the vocal cord level. Once the ETT has passed through the glottic opening, carefully situate it 2 to 3 cm below the level of the vocal cords and lock it in place.

Question 10

Blunt esophageal rupture involves:

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

A spillage of gastrointestinal fluids in the chest. Blunt esophageal injuries are brought on by an unusually high esophageal lumen pressure as a result of a powerful blow to the epigastrium. The left side is where distal esophageal rupture with upper gastrointestinal contents spilling into the chest most frequently occurs.

ATLS Exam Questions & Answers 2026 (11–20)

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