THE PITT // CASEBOOK

Trauma Cases From THE PITT

14 cases 6 episodes · S01E01 – S02E14

All emergency department cases involving Trauma from The Pitt, documented with medically accurate clinical timelines, diagnostic workups, and expert clinical pearls.

Patient presenting with American flag pole impaled in right chest.
S02E14 Brief
34 · Male

Barrett Dunkle

Penetrating chest trauma with retained foreign body

34-year-old male presents to the ED via EMS following a bar fight over a game of pool at a sports bar. He sustained a penetrating thoracic injury when an adversary impaled him in the right chest with an American flag pole. The object remains in situ. Patient is awake, alert, and combative on arrival.

TraumaThoracic Surgery +2 more
Patient arrived via EMS after a head-on MVC into a telephone pole.
S02E14 Moderate
53 · Male

Lyman Paine

Involved in a single-vehicle head-on collision into a telephone pole.

53-year-old male presents post single motor vehicle collision. He drove head-on into a telephone pole. Airbags deployed. He was unconscious at the scene but woke up during transport. There is no scent of alcohol; EMS suspects syncope, seizure, or falling asleep at the wheel. Initially stable upon ED arrival, he shortly develops progressive bilateral upper extremity paresthesia and impending respiratory failure.

TraumaNeurosurgery +2 more
Patient unresponsive on backboard after 20-foot fall.
S02E13 Complex
Adulte · Male

Orlando Diaz

Unresponsive after 20-foot fall.

Orlando Diaz is a patient who was previously admitted for Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). He eloped Against Medical Advice (AMA) because he could not afford to miss a paycheck at his second job. Shortly after leaving, he fell approximately 20 feet at his worksite. He was found unresponsive by coworkers after failing to answer his radio and brought back to the ED by EMS.

TraumaNeurosurgery +2 more
Patient restrained after ED assault
S02E12 Moderate
Adult · Male

Curtis Larson

Extreme agitation, combativeness, and subsequent head trauma (fall)

Curtis Larson, an adult male patient, was brought to the ED following reported alcohol consumption on a golf course. Upon arrival, he became profoundly combative, triggering a 'Code Hula Hoop' (hospital worker assault) after putting a nurse (Emma) in a headlock. During the scuffle, he slipped and sustained blunt head trauma resulting in a bloody nose. He was chemically restrained by another nurse (Dana) using 4mg of Midazolam (Versed) that was on hand.

ToxicologyPsychiatry +2 more
Dante arriving in the ED with a large, actively bleeding scalp laceration.
S02E12 Moderate
34 · Male

Dante Casella

Blunt trauma from a fireworks explosion in a storage unit.

Patient is a 34-year-old male who was packing class B fireworks launch tubes into a van when an explosion occurred. He was launched 10-15 feet across a garage, striking a rolled-down garage door frame. He presents with a large bleeding scalp laceration, chest pain, and tinnitus.

TraumaBlast Injury +4 more
78-year-old female presenting with left hip pain and bruising after a low-speed motor vehicle vs. pedestrian accident.
S02E12 Complex
78 · Female

Frida Cohen

Left hip pain and bruising after a low-speed motor vehicle vs. pedestrian accident (ground-level fall).

78-year-old female presents to the ED after her husband's car backed into her at a very low speed, causing a ground-level fall. She denies head trauma, chest pain, or shortness of breath. She complains of left hip pain and has visible bruising. Past medical history is significant for hypertension, hypothyroidism, and atrial fibrillation. She is currently anticoagulated on Eliquis (apixaban).

GeriatricsTrauma +2 more
Dr. Mohan sitting at the bedside of Orlando Diaz.
S02E02 Complex
Adult · Male

Orlando Diaz

Altered mental status and head trauma after a fall.

Patient was brought to the ED by a friend via private vehicle. The friend reports the patient tripped over rebar and hit his head. The patient initially refused to let the friend call 911 and was conversant, but his mental status deteriorated significantly en route to the hospital. Triage assessment noted a fruity, ketotic odor on the patient's breath.

EndocrinologyTrauma +4 more
Patient presenting with massive facial trauma and epistaxis after an e-scooter collision.
S01E02 Brief
23 · Male

Ben Kemper

Facial trauma, neck contusion, and hemoptysis following a high-mechanism e-scooter crash.

23-year-old male arrives via EMS after getting 'doored' while riding an e-scooter without a helmet. Mechanism of injury involves his neck striking the handlebar, followed by a face-plant onto the pavement. He complains of blood pooling in the back of his throat.

TraumaAirway Management +2 more
Patient presenting to the trauma bay with a severe high-voltage electrical burn to the left forearm.
S01E02 Brief
Adult · Male

Unknown

High-voltage electrocution and ventricular fibrillation

Adult male brought in by flight crew after sustaining a high-voltage electrical injury to his left forearm. He was found at an abandoned factory with bolt cutters at his side, suggesting he cut into a live wire while attempting to steal copper. Pre-hospital course was complicated by a witnessed ventricular fibrillation (V-fib) arrest requiring at least one defibrillation shock prior to ED arrival.

TraumaEnvironmental +3 more
Facial trauma presenting with avulsion of maxillary central incisor (Tooth #8).
S01E01 Brief
30s · Male

Charlie

Facial trauma and missing tooth following a bar altercation.

Patient presents to the ED following a bar fight. He sustained blunt facial trauma resulting in the complete avulsion of tooth number eight. Patient was initially evaluated, deemed stable, and prepped for discharge before the unaccounted missing tooth was noted during morning rounds.

TraumaDental +2 more
Dennis Whitaker experiencing a finger injury during a code blue.
S01E01 Brief
25 · Male

Dennis Whitaker

Acute finger pain and throbbing

Dennis Whitaker, a 4th-year medical student (MS4) on his first day in the Emergency Department, was participating in the resuscitation of an 89-year-old female patient in cardiac arrest. While assisting the team in transferring the patient from the gurney to the ED bed, he sustained a pinch or crush injury to his finger, which subsequently developed into a painful subungual hematoma.

Occupational InjuryOrthopedics +2 more
Patient with Right Lower Leg Degloving Injury
S01E01 Complex
Adult · Female

Minu Agrawal

Extremity trauma and severe pain after falling onto subway tracks.

Patient fell from a subway 'T' platform and her foot was caught between the platform and an incoming train, resulting in a severe degloving injury and open fracture dislocation of the right lower leg and ankle. The mechanism of the fall is initially unknown; bystanders report she may have fainted, tripped, or been pushed. She was rescued by a Good Samaritan who sustained a head injury in the process. Patient presents with extreme pain refractory to initial opiate administration and an inability to provide history due to a profound language barrier.

TraumaOrthopedics +2 more
Patient arriving via EMS with LMA in place.
S01E01 Moderate
42 · Male

Sam Wallace

Blunt head trauma with agonal respirations after fall onto subway tracks.

42-year-old male brought in by EMS. Jumped onto the T (subway) tracks to rescue a woman who had fallen. After successfully pulling her off the tracks, he slipped while climbing back up the platform, fell backward, and struck his head. EMS noted agonal respirations. They were unable to intubate in the field and placed an LMA (Laryngeal Mask Airway) prior to transport.

TraumaNeurology +1 more
Left shoulder with entry wound from 9mm gunshot.
S01E01 Brief
30s · Male

Virgil Straker

Gunshot wound to the left shoulder

Patient sustained a 9mm gunshot wound to the left shoulder. He was evaluated overnight. CT angiogram was negative for vascular injury. The surgical team requested overnight observation, and he has been boarding in the ED.

TraumaGunshot Wound +1 more