You are performing a secondary assessment on the unrestrained adult passenger involved in a motor vehicle collision, in which the car rolled end over end several times at a high rate of speed. The patient is responsive to painful stimuli and in a state of shock. When assessing the head, which one of the following is appropriate?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When assessing the head, checking the pupils with a penlight is appropriate to check for any signs of head injury or increased intracranial pressure. Cleaning a laceration to the scalp may be done during the initial assessment, but it is not a priority during the secondary assessment. Performing a blind finger sweep to check the airway is not appropriate unless there is evidence of an airway obstruction. Applying pressure to a depressed area of the skull should only be done if there is an obvious and life-threatening depression.

You Are Performing a Secondary Assessment on the Unrestrained Adult