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Catastrophic haemorrhage priority — DIPIMC MCQ

Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.

EasyPre-Hospital TraumaCatastrophic haemorrhage priorityDIPIMCDipIMC

At a single-vehicle crash you find a man with an obvious partial amputation of the lower leg and torrential arterial bleeding pooling on the road. He also has noisy, partially obstructed breathing.

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

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: C — Apply an arterial tourniquet to the bleeding limb

Explanation lettering: D = shown as A · A = shown as D

Pre-hospital trauma follows the <C>ABC sequence: exsanguinating external haemorrhage is addressed before the airway because the patient can bleed to death within minutes. Securing the airway first (A) is the classic ABC reflex but is wrong here while a major arterial bleed continues. Catastrophic haemorrhage takes priority over every other intervention.

Reference: JRCALC Clinical Guidelines; NICE NG39