For chest pain due to trauma, which protocol should be used?

• A. Protocol 30
• B. Protocol 21
• C. Protocol 26
• D. Protocol 32

Answer: (A)

When chest pain occurs after an injury, you need a trauma-focused approach that quickly separates injury-related concerns from medical chest pain. The trauma chest pain protocol is designed to guide you through mechanism of injury, signs of chest injury, and potential life threats to breathing or circulation, while emphasizing spinal protection and rapid transport if needed. It prompts you to assess airway and breathing, watch for chest-wall injuries or instability, and continuously reassess, which is crucial because chest trauma can hide serious problems like pneumothorax or contusions. The other protocols are geared toward non-traumatic chest pain or different emergencies, so they don’t address the trauma-specific red flags and the urgency of transport that this scenario requires.