Triage sort

The triage sort (Table 2.2) is a more complex and therefore more time-consuming system designed for secondary triage. Because it requires measurement of the respiratory rate and blood pressure and an assessment of the Glasgow Coma Scale score, it is 

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Triage The sorting of and allocation of treatment to patients, particularly in warfare or disasters, according to a system of priorities according to the urgency of their need for care designed to maximize the numbers of survivors. 

Rapid triage takes place to sort victims Into critical, urgent, delayed, or expectant categories... 

What are the five major cohort triage classifications during epidemic triage Where would each of these cohorts likely be triaged to and what sort of care would they likely receive ... 

Protocols for triage (i.e., the sorting of victims into groups according to their need and resources available) need to be flexible enough to change as the size of a mass casualty event grows and will depend on both the nature of the event and the speed with which it occurs. 

Sorting and prioritizing patients for treatment is referred to as triage. Triage establishes the... 

Appropriate triage is essential for evaluating and sorting out individuals who may need immediate treatment. Once health care responders suspect radiation exposure, they should (2,5,8) ... 

Effective triage requires the presence of a triage officer who is trained to identify the type of casualties that will be sorted. For instance, a person contaminated with a liquid nerve agent who arrives as an ambulatory casualty may deteriorate rapidly once the agent is absorbed. Triage officers are in a key position, and the individual must be capable of making quick and frequently difficult decisions. Also, triage officers must be very familiar with the medical staff and the hospital s capabilities and limitations. 

The triage officer sorts each casualty into one of the four triage categories immediate, minimal, delayed, or expectant (Exhibit 13-1). At lower echelons of care, the triage officer may be a senior medic (who may also be the staff at the emergency treatment station) at higher echelons, he may be a physician s assistant, dentist, or physician. 

Decontamination is defined as the process of removing or neutralizing a hazard from the environment, property, or life form. The principal objectives of this process are to prevent further harm and optimize the chance for full clinical recovery or restoration of the object exposed to Ae dangerous hazard. The triage process is the initial step taken to meet the primary objectives of a disaster response, which involves sorting the injured by priority and determining the best utilization of available resources (e.g., personnel, equipment, medications, ambulances, and hospital beds). This chapter includes a review of decontamination and mass triage with an emphasis on the research and development needs in these areas of disaster response. 

For situations involving a large number of exposed persons, triage may be necessary. These are actions to sort the patients into classes on the basis of their injury and/or disease. This is done to expedite clinical care, and maximize the use of the available clinical services and facilities. For example, after the GoiSnia accident, 112,800 persons were triaged. The existing medical facilities can be used effectively to perform triage if provided with criteria. 

However, the first priority is protection of the responders. It is useless to aggravate the situation. These responders should be provided with protective techniques and materials. The retreat of victims from the toxic atmosphere is evidence that strongly indicates that this is without unconsidered danger for the first responders. Next comes the identification of the toxicant(s). Triage of victims allows judicious sorting and transfer to a decontamination area. Then more specific treatments are applied, according to the possibilities that the situation allows. Specific antidotes are administered if available (Fig. 5.43). 

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