Monday, April 28, 2014

Trauma Assessment Pearls

It may sound as a repetition, but considering the importance of the protocol, for your routine ED Practice and also for the CEM Exams, I wanted to revisit this topic.  View this post, along with my earlier post on Approach to Traumatic Emergencies

Assessment of any trauma victim as we know begins with  alerting the trauma team, donning the 3Gs (gowns, gloves, and goggles) and ABCD & E

Airway & Cervical Spine Immobilization:

  • Manually immobilize the spine, and ask the patient his name and how he is?
  • Then Look in to the mouth and then at the Chest rise, Listen and Feel
  • Attach Nasal Oxygen
  • Apply collar
Breathing:
  • Inspect the neck, Palpate the neck for crepitus and tracheal positioning
  • Ask for O2 Saturation monitor
  • Inspect the chest for obvious signs, pattern of breathing
  • Palpate for crepitus and blood below, and chest rise
  • Percuss the chest and axilla
  • Auscultate the chest and axilla
  • CXR & Pelvic X ray
Circulation:
  • Inspect the abdomen and pelvis for obvious signs
  • Inspect and palpate the limbs
  • Pulse check
  • Ask for BP and 2 Large bore IV lines in the antecubital fossa, collect labs for grouping and matching, FBC, U & Es, Amylase, Normal Saline to keep patency
  • Attach to monitor
  • Palpate the abdomen and pelvis
  • Ask for Fast Scan
Disability:
  • Ask the patient how he is now?
  • Move the fingers and toes (GCS)
  • Look at pupils
  • Get Sugar Level (Fingerstick)
  • If neurologically unstable  or as per NICE guidelines request for CT to be arranged and neursurgeon to be informed
Exposure:
  • Expose the patient
  • Ask for temperature
  • Cover with blankets
After all these conclude by requesting to arrange for log roll and a rectal examination. Before sending for a CT, EKG, ABG, Foley and NG tube.

If you notice, in every step there was some intervention done, (One of the examinee appearing for Part C said to me yesterday, that all steps have one wire/tube to be attached, except C where there are 3:
A     Oxygen
B      Pulse Ox
C     BP, Monitor, IV Access
D     Fingerstick
E     Temperature Probe
A great way to remember the stuff. Thanks to him for the valuable trick)


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