Priorities of Care for Spinal Cord Injury

[Nursingis4me12]

Please read the following scenario and tell me what the priorities of care are.

If a person is in a motor vehicle accident, what is the priority for the nurse?

is it to stabilize the neck or airway management?

[roser13, ASN, RN]

Homework?

What do you think? What is your first priority?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

What have you learned about this in your books or elsewhere (where?)? What about that do you want to discuss? (Hint: We don't give answers to homework outright, although we do help you work your way to them).

[krisiepoo]

I see this is your very first post here. I hope you take a look around and learn lots here.

You'll soon realize by doing that that noone will answer your homework questions FOR you but nearly everyone will work WITH you if you prove you tried to answer it yourself

[nichefinder]

i like to answer this so more experienced RN can dispute if I am wrong: I would say after you have assessed airway patency and if breathing is fine, flatten the pt and immobilize to reduce further nerve damage...???

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

i like to answer this so more experienced RN can dispute if I am wrong: I would say after you have assessed airway patency and if breathing is fine, flatten the pt and immobilize to reduce further nerve damage...???

Think it through...you always think ABC first. Now think about it...would you ever move a possible neck injury before making sure the injury is stabilized?

OP...welcome to AN! The largest online nursing community!

We are happy to help but we need to know what you think first.

[PurpleLover]

I would think stabilize the neck would be first.

Why? In order to ensure not to cause further damage or paralysis if the spinal cord is injured.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

"i like to answer this so more experienced RN can dispute if I am wrong: I would say after you have assessed airway patency and if breathing is fine, flatten the pt and immobilize to reduce further nerve damage...???"

Quote feature seems not to be working at the moment, sorry ...

No, this is not the answer. As an example, I once saw a guy on a stretcher in the ER came in alert and awake, breathing fine, and moving all extremities normally, but no one had immobilized him despite a mechanism of injury which could have caused cervical injury. Someone called his name, he turned his head, and zingo, severed his cord d/t an unsuspected fracture fragment.

You don't move anybody without immobilizing the C-spine FIRST. Don't "flatten" him, don't put him on a stretcher, nothing.