MEDizzy - A 20-year-old man presents to the emergency room after being

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Trauma I

A 20-year-old man presents to the emergency room after being involved in a bar fight. Other than some abrasions on his face and hands, the patient has a laceration on the side of his neck. Exploration of this wound at the bedside reveals a large superficial laceration that does not penetrate the platysma muscle. Which of the following is most appropriate in the initial management of this patient?

ExplanationC. A stab wound that does not penetrate the platysma needs no further evaluation. Meticulous wound care and local irrigation are needed, however significant injury to the deep structures of the neck is unlikely without penetration of the platysma. If the stab wound did penetrate the platysma, evaluation and treatment would be determined by the zone of the neck injured, as well as the presence or absence of signs suggestive of an injury to vital structures. Such signs include frank arterial bleeding, hematoma formation, bruit, cerebral changes indicative of an ischemic or embolic event, stridor, dysphonia, hemoptysis, hematemesis, dysphagia, odynophagia, or subcutaneous air.