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TraumaVault is built around the moment that matters most in trauma care: the decision. Study an image, read the evolving case, commit to an action, then see how the case unfolds.
24cases
22trauma domains
100points per case
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THE VAULT
Trauma cases
CASE 001Massive Epidural Hematoma Requiring Emergent Decompression
A 45-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department after an unwitnessed fall down a flight of stairs while intoxicated. She has a GCS of 5, unequal pupils with a sluggishly reactive left pupil, and blood in the external auditory canal. She is intubated, cervical-spine precautions are maintained, and initial resuscitation is performed. After stabilization sufficient for imaging, head CT demonstrates a large acute epidural hematoma with marked mass effect, midline shift, and concern for impending herniation. Neurosurgery is contacted, and the patient is transferred emergently to the operating room. The operative image becomes available after cranial exposure and evacuation have begun.
CASE 002Blunt Hepatic Trauma With Active Hemorrhage
A 29-year-old restrained driver is evaluated after a high-speed MVC with right-upper-quadrant pain. After initial resuscitation he is sufficiently stable for contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis.
CASE 003Flank Stab Wound With Bowel Evisceration
A 29-year-old patient is brought directly to the trauma bay shortly after being stabbed in the left flank during an assault. The patient is awake, speaking clearly, and protecting the airway. Initial vital signs are heart rate 108/min, blood pressure 118/74 mmHg, respiratory rate 20/min, and oxygen saturation 98% on room air. During the initial external examination, an approximately 4-cm left flank wound is identified with bowel protruding through the opening; the accompanying image was obtained at this examination and is available now. No active external arterial bleeding is seen. The abdomen is tender near the wound, but there is no diffuse rigidity documented on the initial examination.
CASE 004Seatbelt Sign to Operative Discovery: Traumatic Bucket-Handle Bowel Injury
An adult restrained driver is brought after a high-speed motor-vehicle collision. There is a prominent lower abdominal seatbelt sign and abdominal tenderness. Initial airway and breathing assessments are adequate. Circulation is supported with blood products and limited crystalloid; the patient remains responsive for immediate trauma assessment but develops worsening abdominal pain and borderline perfusion. FAST demonstrates free intraperitoneal fluid. Because the patient has evolving perfusion concern and a positive FAST, the trauma team proceeds to emergency exploratory laparotomy rather than delaying for CT. The supplied operative photograph is obtained after the abdomen is opened.
CASE 005Blunt Abdominal Trauma With Operative Splenic Hemorrhage
An adult patient is brought to the trauma bay after a high-speed motor-vehicle collision. On arrival, the patient is pale, confused, and hypotensive with abdominal tenderness and guarding. Initial resuscitation includes blood products, large-bore vascular access, and activation of the massive transfusion protocol. eFAST demonstrates free intraperitoneal fluid in the right upper quadrant and pelvis. The patient remains persistently hypotensive despite initial resuscitation, so the trauma team proceeds directly to emergent exploratory laparotomy without CT. The uploaded operative photograph becomes available after abdominal entry and exposure.
CASE 006Traumatic Arrest With Open Pericardium: Internal Cardiac Massage and Defibrillation
A previously responsive adult is brought after a high-speed motor-vehicle collision. Initial resuscitation includes airway control, bilateral chest decompression as indicated by the trauma team, blood-product resuscitation, and rapid assessment for immediately reversible causes. The patient then loses pulses in the trauma suite. Because the patient is in traumatic arrest, the team proceeds directly to an adjacent operating room or operating-level resuscitation area rather than CT, initiates traumatic-arrest protocols, and performs an emergency resuscitative thoracotomy. The pericardium is opened, and the operative image becomes available during the procedure. The team now needs coordinated decisions about internal cardiac massage, rhythm assessment, and use of internal shock paddles.
CASE 007Stable Patella Fracture After a Fall
A 42-year-old adult presents to the emergency department after falling directly onto the front of the right knee. The patient is hemodynamically stable and has isolated knee pain and swelling. The skin is intact, distal pulses and sensation are normal, and there is no evidence of compartment syndrome. No knee radiographs have yet been reviewed in the case.
CASE 008Chance Fracture After Motor Vehicle Collision: Do Not Miss the Bowel Injury
A 34-year-old restrained driver is brought to the emergency department after a frontal motor vehicle collision. The patient has a prominent transverse abdominal ecchymosis consistent with a seatbelt sign, severe low-back pain, and diffuse abdominal tenderness without peritonitis. Initial airway and circulation are intact. After analgesia and initial resuscitation, vital signs remain adequate for CT. Trauma CT imaging is obtained, including a sagittal lumbar reconstruction. The uploaded CT image is now available for review.
CASE 009Crushed Chest After High-Speed MVC: CT-Defined Thoracic Injury
A restrained adult is brought after a high-speed MVC with a crushed chest. On arrival, there is marked chest-wall crepitus and subcutaneous emphysema, and the patient is intubated in the trauma bay. The patient is tachycardic but initially maintains blood pressure after blood products and controlled ventilation are initiated. After immediate trauma-bay reassessment and pleural decompression as clinically indicated, a right thoracostomy tube is placed. Oxygenation and blood pressure remain temporarily adequate, so the patient undergoes contrast-enhanced CT of the chest as part of the trauma CT evaluation. The uploaded CT image is now available for interpretation.
CASE 010Intraoperative Management of a Retained Nail Penetrating the Heart
A worker is struck in the precordium by a nail fired from a pneumatic nail gun. The nail remains embedded and is not manipulated in the field. On arrival, he is conscious but anxious, with tachycardia, hypotension, muffled heart sounds, and a left parasternal wound. He has a weak but present pulse and transient improvement after blood products. A focused cardiac ultrasound shows pericardial fluid and a linear echogenic foreign body traversing the cardiac silhouette. Because of ongoing concern for cardiac penetration and marginal but temporarily supported hemodynamics, the trauma team proceeds urgently to the operating room with the nail stabilized in place. After thoracotomy and exposure of the heart, the operative image becomes available.
CASE 011Penetrating Abdominal Trauma With Multiple Small-Bowel Perforations
A patient arrives after a gunshot wound to the abdomen with hypotension and clinical concern for intra-abdominal hemorrhage and contamination. After immediate airway and circulation support with blood-product resuscitation, the trauma team proceeds directly to the operating room for emergent exploratory laparotomy. The uploaded image becomes available after the abdomen is opened and the small bowel is examined, showing multiple perforations with gross enteric leakage.
CASE 012Packing the Abdomen in Catastrophic Hepatic Transection
A 29-year-old restrained driver is brought after a high-speed motor-vehicle collision. On arrival, the patient is pale, confused, and hypotensive with abdominal distention and diffuse tenderness. Initial blood-product resuscitation produces only transient improvement, but the patient remains sufficiently responsive to proceed directly to the operating room. ED FAST is positive in the right upper quadrant and pelvis. The trauma team performs an emergency exploratory laparotomy. At operative exposure, the uploaded image becomes available: the abdomen contains massive hemoperitoneum, and the liver is visibly split into two major portions with active diffuse hemorrhage. The immediate operative challenge is temporary hemorrhage control rather than definitive hepatic reconstruction.
CASE 013Facial Trauma After a Bar Fight: Mandibular Fracture
A 29-year-old man is brought to the emergency department after being repeatedly punched in the face during a bar fight. He is alert, speaking clearly, and breathing without difficulty. Initial assessment shows no stridor, expanding neck hematoma, or uncontrolled oral bleeding. He has facial swelling, malocclusion, pain with jaw movement, and a small intraoral laceration. Analgesia is provided, and cervical-spine precautions are maintained until examination is reassuring. Because he remains hemodynamically stable and has focal mandibular tenderness with malocclusion, diagnostic CT of the maxillofacial bones is obtained. The uploaded coronal CT image is now available for review.
CASE 014Crushed Chest With Operative Exposure for Rib Stabilization
An adult patient is brought to the trauma center after a high-energy motor-vehicle collision with a crushed chest. Initial assessment shows respiratory failure, paradoxical chest-wall motion, severe chest pain before sedation, and hypoxemia. The patient is intubated, mechanically ventilated, and admitted to the trauma ICU. After initial resuscitation, CT chest demonstrates multiple markedly displaced fractures involving several contiguous ribs with a flail segment and pulmonary contusions; no injury requiring emergent abdominal surgery is identified. The patient remains hemodynamically suitable for further evaluation and planned intervention. Despite lung-protective ventilation, analgesia, pulmonary toilet, and supportive care, chest-wall instability and ventilator dependence persist. On the following hospital day, the patient is taken to the operating room for planned rib stabilization. After induction, positioning, and open exposure of the injured chest wall, the teaching image is obtained before fixation is completed.
CASE 015M80 Hand Blast Injury: Hemorrhage Control and Urgent Hand Consultation
A previously healthy adult presents immediately after an M80 detonated in his hand. He is awake but distressed. The injured hand has near-complete soft-tissue disruption, gross contamination, and ongoing brisk bleeding through field dressings. On arrival, the trauma team obtains the supplied external photograph during the initial resuscitation; no CT or operative procedure has occurred. The team is evaluating airway, breathing, circulation, associated injuries, and immediate limb-threatening hemorrhage while arranging urgent specialist involvement.
CASE 016Ballistic Thoracoabdominal Injury With Open Abdomen and ECMO
A previously healthy adult sustains a close-range gunshot wound to the right lower chest and upper abdomen. Prehospital care includes hemorrhage control, intubation, blood products, and rapid transport. In the trauma bay, the patient has penetrating thoracoabdominal injuries with hemorrhagic shock. Resuscitation proceeds directly to emergent operative management because of instability. Damage-control thoracotomy and laparotomy identify a transdiaphragmatic ballistic tract involving the lung and liver with major hemorrhage. The abdomen is packed and left temporarily open. Despite operative hemorrhage control and massive transfusion, severe hypoxemia and cardiopulmonary shock persist; the patient is cannulated for ECMO in the operating room and transferred to the ICU. The teaching photograph is obtained after this operative pathway, either during the operation or in the early postoperative ICU period, and becomes available at the second decision point.
CASE 017Hemodynamic Instability with Open-Book Pelvic Injury
A 34-year-old restrained driver is brought directly to the trauma bay after a high-speed MVC. He is pale, confused, and complains of severe pelvic pain. Initial assessment shows a patent airway, spontaneous breathing, diminished but present distal pulses, and no obvious external hemorrhage. A pelvic binder has not yet been applied. After direct-pressure dressings, warming, large-bore access, and initiation of balanced blood-product resuscitation, an AP pelvic radiograph is obtained in the resuscitation bay because pelvic hemorrhage is suspected. The patient remains hypotensive but has transient improvement in mental status and radial pulse after the first blood products, permitting image acquisition. The radiograph is now available for interpretation.
CASE 018Deep Dog Bite to the Right Arm: Neurovascular Assessment, Consultation, and Infection Prevention
A 34-year-old right-hand-dominant adult presents to the emergency department approximately 2 hours after being attacked by an unfamiliar dog. Bleeding was controlled with a pressure dressing before arrival. The dog cannot immediately be located for verification of vaccination status. On arrival, the patient is alert and hemodynamically stable. The right arm has several deep punctures and lacerations with gross contamination and swelling. During the initial examination, the clinician obtains the displayed external wound photograph; it is not an operative image or diagnostic scan. Before analgesia, the patient reports numbness along the dorsoradial forearm and difficulty extending the wrist and fingers. Radial and ulnar pulses are palpable, capillary refill is normal, and the hand is warm.
CASE 019Intraoperative Fasciotomy Image Review After Acute Compartment Syndrome
A 29-year-old construction worker sustains a heavy crush injury to the right lower leg when trapped briefly between machinery components. Plain radiographs at the receiving trauma center show a closed tibial shaft fracture. After splinting, analgesia, and initial resuscitation, serial examinations show escalating pain despite opioids, pain with passive toe stretch, tense compartments, and worsening paresthesia. Distal pulses remain palpable. The orthopedic trauma team is urgently consulted, and the patient proceeds to the operating room for suspected acute compartment syndrome. The uploaded photograph is obtained intraoperatively after the fasciotomy and becomes available during postoperative handoff; it is not used to establish the preoperative diagnosis.
CASE 020Posterior Knee Dislocation: The Popliteal Artery You Cannot Miss
A 29-year-old restrained driver is brought to the emergency department after a high-speed frontal collision. The right knee struck the dashboard. The leg is held in flexion with a prominent anterior contour at the knee and severe pain. There is no uncontrolled external hemorrhage. After spinal precautions, analgesia, and initial trauma assessment, the patient is awake and physiologically stable. A portable cross-table lateral radiograph of the right knee is obtained in the ED before reduction and transferred to the trauma workstation; the uploaded image is revealed at Stage 1. The foot is warm, and a dorsalis pedis pulse is palpable but diminished compared with the left; the posterior tibial pulse is difficult to appreciate. Motor function is limited by pain, and sensation is reduced subjectively over the dorsum of the foot.
CASE 021Transiently Stable Motorcyclist With Grade V Renal Trauma
A motorcyclist is thrown from his bike at high speed. He arrives immobilized with right flank and abdominal pain, abrasions, and no obvious external hemorrhage. Initial airway and breathing assessments are reassuring. After warmed blood products and limited crystalloid, his systolic blood pressure is approximately 110 mmHg, heart rate 118/min, and mental status is normal. Pelvic stability is maintained, and there is no clinical evidence of tension pneumothorax. Because he remains sufficiently responsive to resuscitation, a contrast-enhanced trauma CT is obtained. The uploaded CT image becomes available for review after acquisition. Immediately after leaving the scanner, he becomes pale and confused, and his systolic blood pressure falls to 60 mmHg.
CASE 022Stable Blunt Trauma with a Positive FAST
A 29-year-old patient arrives after a restrained high-speed motor-vehicle collision. The patient has right-upper-quadrant abdominal tenderness but no peritonitis. Initial airway and breathing assessments are normal. After a brief trauma-bay assessment, blood pressure remains 124/78 mmHg, heart rate 96/min, mental status is normal, and peripheral perfusion is adequate. A FAST examination is performed during the initial resuscitation; the supplied FAST image becomes available at the first decision point.
CASE 023Motorcycle Crash With Blood at the Meatus: Recognizing Posterior Urethral Injury
A 27-year-old man is brought after a motorcycle collision. He is alert, with pelvic pain and visible pelvic deformity. Initial blood pressure is 108/72 mmHg and heart rate is 116/min. After warmed blood products and pelvic stabilization, blood pressure improves to 124/80 mmHg. Examination shows blood at the urethral meatus, and the pelvis is not repeatedly stressed. Because urethral injury is suspected, a retrograde urethrogram is obtained before any urethral catheter attempt. The patient remains sufficiently stable for imaging, and the image is now available for interpretation.
CASE 024Fever and Necrotic Tissue Two Days After Extremity Fasciotomy
A 34-year-old patient sustains a high-energy crush injury to the lower leg. After examination confirms acute compartment syndrome, emergent four-compartment fasciotomy is performed. The wounds are left open, and the patient initially stabilizes. Forty-eight hours later, the patient develops fever to 39.1°C, worsening leukocytosis, increasing pain and malodor from the fasciotomy wound, and tissue discoloration. The patient remains sufficiently stable for immediate transfer to the operating room. The wound is taken for urgent repeat exploration, and the operative image becomes available after exploration begins.