Intoxicated Patient's Injury is More than Originally Suspected

It's near the end of a 24-hour shift when the call comes. EMS is dispatched to a residence for a 20-something-year-old male who's reportedly fallen at home while intoxicated and has facial trauma. His family was unable to get him into their private vehicle, so 9-1-1 is called for ambulance transport to the ED of the local rural hospital. At the scene, the patient is found lying supine on the floor, attended by family members. Upon entering the residence, blood is noted on the floor. The patient tracks the responders' movement with his eyes as he's approached. Figure 1: Location of patient's injuries He's responsive to verbal stimuli, answering questions appropriately, and is alert and oriented to person, place and time. When asked what happened, the patient states that he remembers coming home intoxicated from the bar the night before, then waking up in his home coughing and spitting blood out of his mouth. He has no recollection of what happened after he arrived at home until awakening in the morning. Patient Assessment The patient complains of head and neck pain, which he rates as 9 out of 10 in intensity, so he's placed in manual spinal precautions. On exam, vitals include a blood pressure of 142/86, pulse of 88, respirations at 20. There's a large hematoma to the right side of the face, extending from the right maxilla to slightly above the hairline. The right eye is completely swollen shut with a small trickle of serosanguinous fluid leaking from the medial edge of the ...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Trauma Patient Care Source Type: news