SAQ Stack

Short Answer Questions for ED Fellowship Study

Case: Traumatic limb amputation

A 70 year old male is brought into your tertiary Emergency Department after pre-hospital notification of a suicide attempt by jumping in front of a passenger train with resultant complete amputation at the level of his right upper arm. Emergency services have retrieved the patient’s limb and are transporting this with the patient. On arrival the patient’s vital signs are :

  • HR 118 bpm
  • BP 98/50 mmHg
  • RR 26 /min
Surprisingly the patient is alert and oriented, however he is screaming out in pain. You task one of your senior nursing colleagues to specifically manage the amputated limb whilst you concurrently attend to resuscitating your patient. The patient is clearly distressed and you decide to prioritise analgesia.

1. State (4) steps in caring for the amputated limb (4 marks) 4 marks

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2. Outline (4) steps in caring for the stump (site of amputation). (4 marks) 4 marks

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3. Complete the table below with an appropriate analgesic option FOR THIS SCENARIO as well as indicating one potential negative in its use IN THIS PATIENT. You must give a different potential negative for each option. (6 marks) 6 marks

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4. List (4) acute complications of traumatic amputation you will specifically address during resuscitation. (4 marks) 4 marks

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This case forms part of a collaborative marking project designed to support fellowship preparation. In the week leading up to each tutorial, you can contribute answers to any active case. If you contribute, your answers may be reviewed, marked, and used to refine the model answers during the weekly fellowship teaching sessions.

All responses are displayed anonymously or using anonymised avatars. You remain in full control of your answers and may withdraw them at any time.

Your personal results and updated model answers become available the day after the tutorial.

After the tutorial you can still do the case and self-mark your answers, but your answers will not be included in the group review.