Question of the Week: June 18, 2012

Question: You are performing triage at a multiple casualty incident. A patient you encounter is lying on the ground. You note an obvious tib/fib fracture. He has strong radial pulses, a respiratory rate of 24 and he follows commands. What triage classification would you assign?

Answer: This patient would be assigned a yellow or delayed classification. He isn’t green, because he wouldn’t likely walk if instructed to do so. His mental status, pulse and respirations don’t push him into priority (red) status. Whether using START or another triage system, the goal in this patient is to use a quick determination of key indicators to determine if more serious injuries are present.

Questions provided by EMTReview.