A flight nurse with Memorial Hermann Life Flight in Katy, Texas, uses a finger key light to do a rapid pupil assessment on a male patient who was working on his vehicle when the car shifted and partially crushed him. The patient was extricated by his son before the first responding crew from Community Volunteer Fire Department arrived. The crew, which included a student on her first day, put him in C-spine precautions and performed a trauma assessment. His injuries included third-degree burns on his right leg and left arm, as well as crush injuries and a laceration to his ankle. The crew administered oxygen via a non-rebreather mask and performed a 12-lead ECG. The responding Life Flight helicopter crew managed his pain and transported him to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. He was admitted with bilateral rib fractures, left clavicle and scapula fractures, a left hemothorax and an open ankle fracture.
This article originally appeared in December 2010 JEMS as “Check his pupils”.
