You are dispatched to the local high school for a "person struck with a baseball." You arrive on the scene and find a 16-year-ol
d male sitting on the bench. Apparently he was the pitcher and was struck in the abdominal area by a line drive ball that was hit very hard. He states that nothing is hurting except he has some mild pain in the area where he was struck. He is upset that the ambulance was called and wants to go back into the game and continue pitching. Your exam reveals nothing remarkable except mild pain when you palpate the injured area. Vital signs are normal. What is the next step? A) Have the patient walk to the ambulance and take him to the ED. No other care needs to be provided, as there is really no significant sign of any injury.
B) Tell the coach the patient is okay and he can go back into the ball game.
C) Have the coach apply cold to the area and let the pitcher back in the game if he does not get worse in the next 15 minutes.
D) Take appropriate Standard Precautions, apply high-concentration oxygen by nonrebreather mask, and transport the patient ASAP, carefully monitoring the patient during transport.
Answer: (D) Take appropriate Standard Precautions, apply high-concentration oxygen by nonrebreather mask, and transport the patient ASAP, carefully monitoring the patient during transport.
