Summary

Summary of study session II

In study session II you have learnt

• Primary assessment- is an ABC assessment and provision of a basic life support to sick or injured patients. Can be provided by trained non medical or medical workers, until definitive medical treatment can be accessed
• The 4 main aims of primary assessment are called 4 Ps Preserve life, Prevent further injury, and Promote recovery, protect yourself.
• Conscious people will maintain their own airway automatically, but those who are unconscious (with a GCS of less than 8) may be unable to maintain a patent(open) airway, as the part of the brain which autonomously controls in normal situations may not be functioning.
• If an unconscious patient is lying on his or her back, the tongue may fall backward, obstructing the oro-pharynx. Assess the airway for presence of any foreign body, secretion, and the tongue is obstructing the airway Patient unconscious- open the mouth using head tilt chin lift or jaw thrust maneuvers
• Look and remove/ suction any foreign body or secretions and see for B- breathing: Can patient talk and breathe freely? YES- this means patient has open airway, sufficient breathing and oxygenation, therefore go to C
• Circulation: check for regularity, volume and rate of the pulse, measure blood pressure and saturation of oxygen using pulse oxymetere and act accordingly
• While doing the primary survey or assessment in unconscious patients always protect the cervical spine until the diagnosis of cervical spine injury is ruled out.
• To promote recovery- administer Oxygen, strict follow up for vital signs, protect aspiration, on time initiation of definitive management, consider Pain control
• While doing primary assessment protect yourself- Outside hospital consider the safety of the scene, Apply protective devices to protect contaminations, consider any possible legal issue
• Secondary survey or assessment- Following successful ABC evaluation secondary survey is initiated and it includes, systematic assessment (physical examination) of the patient from the head to toes
• Tertiary assessment is Re-evaluation of the effectiveness of given treatment, Assessment of the general clinical condition of the patient, Decision making on further management,
• In the event of abrupt changes (deterioration), return to initial assessment
• Triage- from the French word trier, literally means: to sort. The aim is to bring the greatest good to the greatest number of people - this is achieved through prioritizing limited resources to achieve the greatest possible benefit. Is a method of ranking sick or injured people according to the severity of their sickness or injury in order to ensure that medical and nursing staff facilities are used most efficiently
• Triage is a brief clinical assessment that determines the clinical urgency of the patient's presenting problem and culminates with the allocation of an emergency category, which determines the time and sequence in which they are going to be seen.
• Triage is the first point of clinical contact for all people presenting to the Emergency Department and the point at which care begins.