Stab to Neck

Abstract

Abstract This resource is a simulation case for medical students and residents regarding the evaluation and management of a patient with a stab wound to the neck. In the scenario, the patient was at a bar with friends when an assailant jumped him and stabbed him in the neck. The patient ran out of the bar, and his friends dropped him off at the emergency room. The patient complains of pain in the neck/stab area frequently. The patient states he may have been stabbed in the back as well but was running too fast to notice. The patient initially denies having trouble breathing/swallowing and is sitting up in bed. He also states that his right arm/hand feels funny. The case then progresses down a difficult airway algorithm. The instructor can remove all transitions and manually advance to each progression of the case if he or she runs into any problems with the programming. With the patient simulator, some students are able to intubate with all of the airway changes activated, but the case still allows discussion of penetrating neck trauma and airway management techniques.

Keywords

• Trauma
• Neck
• Manikins
• Penetrating
• Wounds & Injuries
• Stab