A 28-Year-Old Male Was Cutting Limbs from a Tree When

A 28-year-old male was cutting limbs from a tree when he lost his footing and fell approximately 20 feet. He is unresponsive and breathing shallowly at 28 times per minute. His radial pulse is weak and thready, and his skin is cool to the touch. Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs) have placed him on a nonrebreather face mask and are holding manual in-line cervical spine stabilization. His respirations are snoring. Based on these assessment findings, which one of the following instructions would you provide to the EMRs?

A) "He has snoring respirations, so let's go ahead and open the airway with the head-tilt, chin-lift."
B) "Do not cover him with a blanket because that will cause his blood vessels to dilate and drop his BP."
C) "Let's go ahead and elevate his legs 8 to 12 inches so more blood gets to his vital organs."
D) "Let's take off the oxygen mask and start positive pressure ventilation to assist his breathing."