Triage

Objectives• Given casualties and no other medical assets, decide which casualty needs medical care first.• Describe how to :

– Prioritize injuries– Establish triage areas– Establish evacuation lanes

• Discuss establishing an LZ

What do I do?

• You might find yourself in this situation:

• There are casualties, and either – no other medical personnel

available– or so many casualties that

medical assets are over-whelmed.

• You will be expected to “do something.”

What do I do?

• You may find yourself with an overwhelming number of casualties.

Preparation

• Establish your triage area and your category holding areas.– Develop a marking system

• Establish your evacuation holding areas– Develop a marking system

• One-Way Traffic!!– Ensure a traffic control

• Your triage Officer needs to be VERY experienced– Give them some basic classes

Preparation

• Where are the security assets?

• Be prepared to jump quickly– ?establish the BASE vs Tailgate

Medicine?

“DIME”

• D-Delayed

• I-Immediate

• M-Minimal

• E-Expectant

Evacuation Lanes

• Urgent Surgical – STAT to an Trauma Center

• Urgent – STAT to a ER

• Priority – ASAP to Either

• Routine– Whenever…

I

D

M

E

Triage Area

Routine

Priority

Urgent

Urgent Surgical

Traffic Flow

Initial Approach• Call out to the casualties, “If you can hear my

voice, get up and come to me!”– If they get up and walk to you, they are Minimal– They may be helpful as litter bearers/buddy aid and

security assets

• Call out, “All of you that can hear me, raise your hand or foot!”– If they raise a hand or foot, they are delayed

• If the casualties don’t get up, or raise a hand/foot, they are immediate or expectant….get busy!

Circulation

• Control the life threatening hemorrhage

• Check the radial pulse– If it is present=systolic pressure of

80mmHg– If it is strong

• Good sign

– If it is bad• Bad sign-may make your patient expectant

Breathing

• Put your hands on both sides of the chest and count his respiratory rate, effort, symmetry

• Ausculate if possible• The patient is breathing and in no distress

– Delayed vs minimal

• Is there respiratory distress?– Immediate

• No breathing=expectant

Airway and breathing

• Most casualties will NOT have an airway injury.

• If a casualty is talking or hollering, his airway is OK for the time being.

Airway

• This wound seems small, but it could cause bleeding or direct injury to the airway or spine.

• Don’t forget to continue to re-triage– It is a DYNAMIC process!!

Airway• This man can breathe OK

when sitting up.• When you try to make him lie

flat, he struggles and fights for air.

• Let him sit up!• If there are medical

personnel in the area, let them know about him first!

• And tell them that he can’t breathe when lying flat.

Airway• In large flame burns,

airway might start out OK, but within hours becomes narrowed by swelling.

• Get history while he can still talk.

• Then provide an airway before it becomes critical.

• Don’t be alarmed by the facial burn. Most of them heal well if not very deep.

No breathing or pulse• In a mass casualty situation, with many truly

injured people, – If you find a casualty who is not breathing

and has no pulse, leave him and go on to the next.

– Do not compel personnel to try to revive a dead casualty, when the living still need their help.

• Reminder - this goes for a mass casualty situation with many truly injured people.

But what about CPR?

• Trauma patients who are dead at the scene can rarely by revived, even under the best of circumstances.

• The few who might live will require skilled care and equipment that is not available to you.

• The living need your help more.

But what about CPR?• CPR IS used in cases of:

– drowning– hypothermia (freezing)– electrical shock– sudden cardiac death

• But not during mass casualties involving many truly injured people.

What can be done during triage?

• Stop bleeding

• Insert a nasopharyngeal airway

Serious head injury

• In an over-whelming mass casualty situation, if a casualty does not open his eyes, talk, or move, leave him and go on to the next.

• In Vietnam, casualties with direct GSW to the head who were comatose either did not survive, or survived with serious impairment.

• Casualties who are comatose will require more care than you can give them in an over-whelming mass casualty situation.

Priorities in general

• Life has priority over limb or eye-sight• Life threatening hemorrhage has priority over airway and

breathing problems• Airway and breathing problems have priority.• Torso injuries might have priority over limbs.• A limb with no pulse has priority over a limb with a pulse.• Open fractures have priority over closed.

Helicopter Landing Zone Clear all debris. Mark obstacles (Panels/Chemlites/Glint Tape). LZ should be generally level not >16 deg. And

preferably < 8 deg. Cleared diameter. Aircraft will land facing into the wind. Avoid landing aircraft down slope Ensure marking devices (Bean Bag/ Lights /

Chemlites / VS17 Panels) are properly secured to avoid them being sucked up in the rotor wash.

Ground guides are NOT NEEDED to land. Regardless of how the HLZ is marked, the pilot will

determine where to land.

INVERTED “Y” LZ

7m

14m

STEM LIGHT

14mRIGHT LEG LIGHT

LEFT LEG LIGHT

STEM LIGHT

WIND DIRECTION

Helicopter Landing Zone DAYLIGHT MARKING PROCEDURES

Determine method of marking (Smoke/Panels/Strobe/Star Cluster).

Do not pop smoke of fire star cluster until pilot requests it.

NIGHT MARKING PROCEDURES Use light discipline as pilots will be on NODs (Only marking lights should be on as aircraft

approaches.) Determine the marking method

(Bean Bag Lights/Chemlites/Strobe). May use an IR chemlite spun on a length of 550

cord to mark the HLZ or to indicate where the casualties/medics are located on the LZ.

Helicopter Landing Zone

MEDIC RULES Package patient to withstand a rigorous evacuation in which no

EVAC care may occur. All interventions should be secured/splinted/space or wool blanket on/litter straps on and snug.

Secure any loose items on or around the patient. Remove weaponsto evac. Never approach the aircraft unless directed by a crewmember.

Flight medics will normally disembark and come to you to evaluate your casualties.

Watch for, and obey immediately, any commands given by crewmembers.

Ensure that you have pertinent patient data recorded prior to them leaving.

Always have/wear a pair of goggles.

9 – Line MEDEVAC

LINE 1 – LOCATION OF PICKUP SITE LINE 2 – RADIO CALL SIGN & FREQUENCY LINE 3 – NUMBER OF PATIENTS BY PRECEDENCE

**A** Urgent **B** Urgent Surgical**C** Priority**D** Routine**E** Convenience

LINE 4 – SPECIAL EQUIPMENT NEEDED**A** None**B** Hoist**C** Extraction Equipment**D** Ventilator

LINE 5 – NUMBER OF PATIENTS BY TYPE**L** Number of Litter Patients**A** Number of Ambulatory Patients

9 – Line MEDEVAC

LINE 6 – SECURITY OF PICK-UP SITE (WAR)**N** no gunfire.**P** Possible gunfire Troops in the Area (Approach with Caution)**E** Gunfirein the Area (Approach with Caution)**X** Gunfirein the Area (Armed Escort Required)

LINE 8 – PATIENT NATIONALITY AND STATUS**A** Team member**B** Non Team member

LINE 9 – DETAILS OF LANDING SITE

Questions??