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Trauma hypothermia prevention — DipIMC MCQ

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EasyPre-Hospital Trauma ManagementTrauma hypothermia preventionDipIMC

An older pedestrian with femur and chest injuries is lying on a cold wet roadside. Bleeding is controlled and he is shivering during packaging. What is the most appropriate management?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

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Correct answer: D — Remove wet clothing, insulate and use active warming during transfer

Option D is correct because Hypothermia worsens trauma coagulopathy and should be actively prevented during pre-hospital care. Option E is less appropriate because watchful waiting risks deterioration or delays definitive care; option A is less appropriate because the clinical risk exceeds that destination or timeframe. Option B is less appropriate because it is plausible in a different scenario but suboptimal for the features described; option C is less appropriate because analgesia is important but not sufficient as the primary intervention. Clinical pearl: in DipIMC-style questions, the best answer is the intervention that changes outcome earliest in the pre-hospital phase.

Reference: NICE Major Trauma NG39; JRCALC Guidelines