1a. How is triage different in a disaster from triage on a routine day in the emergency department?
Triage in the emergency and trauma department collects information to categorize patients in terms of patient care. Triage during disasters differs from typical days since patients are divided according to levels beginning with those who require immediate health attention. Triage during a disaster is categorized into three stages. Primary triage is immediate and occurs at the scene of the incident. Secondary triage is done immediately on arrival to the hospital, while the third stage of triage refers to giving medical services by prioritizing care services.
1b. What are the triage categories during a mass casualty incident?
Triage during a mass casualty in a hospital first involves categorizing the patients according to the severity of their conditions. This process involves using colors like black for deceased or expectant patients, red for patients with severe injuries with high chances of survival and immediate attention. Yellow indicates patients have severe injuries which are not necessarily life-threatening. Green is for patients with less severe injuries like sprains or fractures.
1c. During the disaster exercise, a simulated patient with a penetrating head injury who does not respond to painful stimuli and has a Glasgow Coma Scale of 5 is brought to the emergency department. In what category should the patient be placed?
A patient with Glasgow Coma Scale 5 is categorized to the black color. Patients with this coma scale are unresponsive patients with low chances of survival.
2a. What physical injuries may occur after the primary blast event, and what management is needed?
Explosions and blasts produce unique patterns of injuries to casualties. These injuries depend on the environment, materials involved, the distance between the blast and individuals, and any intervening protective barriers. Primary blasts or blast waves are due to high-order explosives resulting from pressurization waves within body surfaces. These types of blasts mostly affect parts like the middle ear, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. Victims suffer concussions, eye ruptures, damage to the middle ear, TM rapture, and blast lungs. Managing these types of injuries includes life support measures that direct attention to thoracic and abdominal trauma.
2b. What physical injuries may occur after the secondary blast phase, and what management is needed?
Secondary blasts result in injuries in any part of the body resulting from blunt force and eye injuries. Managing these types of injuries involves activities like debridement of wounds along with primary and secondary closure.
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