In blunt trauma with hypotension, the absence of a distal pulse on one side should raise concern for which injury?

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Multiple Choice

In blunt trauma with hypotension, the absence of a distal pulse on one side should raise concern for which injury?

In blunt trauma with low blood pressure, a new absence of a distal pulse on one side points to a vascular injury affecting that limb’s circulation. The most plausible and serious cause among the options is rupture of the aorta, because tearing of this major vessel can rapidly disrupt blood flow to distal arteries and lead to life-threatening hypotension. The other injuries don’t typically produce a unilateral loss of a distal pulse: a spinal fracture mainly causes neurological deficits rather than pulselessness; a ruptured spleen causes intra-abdominal bleeding with general shock rather than a focused limb pulse deficit; and a pulmonary contusion affects gas exchange, not peripheral pulses.

In blunt trauma with low blood pressure, a new absence of a distal pulse on one side points to a vascular injury affecting that limb’s circulation. The most plausible and serious cause among the options is rupture of the aorta, because tearing of this major vessel can rapidly disrupt blood flow to distal arteries and lead to life-threatening hypotension. The other injuries don’t typically produce a unilateral loss of a distal pulse: a spinal fracture mainly causes neurological deficits rather than pulselessness; a ruptured spleen causes intra-abdominal bleeding with general shock rather than a focused limb pulse deficit; and a pulmonary contusion affects gas exchange, not peripheral pulses.

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