- Foreword
- Abbreviations
- Contributors
- The trauma epidemic
- Pre-hospital emergency care
- Initial assessment
- The trauma team
- Airway management in trauma
- Assessment of breathing—thoracic injuries
- Circulatory assessment
- Head injuries
- Radiology in trauma
- Tertiary survey
- Spinal injury
- Abdominal trauma
- Pelvic injuries
- Limb injuries
- Crush injury
- Vascular trauma
- Eye trauma
- Maxillofacial trauma
- Damage control
- Paediatric trauma
- Trauma in pregnancy
- Burn injuries
- Penetrating torso injury
- Ballistic and blast injuries
- Chemical, biological, and radiation injuries
- Critical care issues in trauma
- Trauma retrieval
- Psychological aspects of trauma
- Rehabilitation after trauma
- Commonly missed injuries
- Research in trauma
- Bariatric trauma
- Major incidents
- Table 33.4. 2 × 2 Triage Table
(p. 23) Initial assessment
- Chapter:
- (p. 23) Initial assessment
- Author(s):
Jason Smith
, Ian Greaves
, and Keith M Porter
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199543328.003.0003
Initial assessment 24
The primary survey 26
The secondary survey 30
Further investigation and management 32
Trauma is a multi-system phenomenon, which does not respect anatomical boundaries and which can involve multiple systems. While certain mechanisms of injury can suggest specific injury patterns, the unexpected should be expected. The purpose of the initial assessment is to quickly identify all significant injuries, whether obvious or occult. At the same time threats to life and limb are treated immediately, further deterioration is prevented through appropriate intervention, necessary investigations and ongoing management are instituted, and transfer to definitive care is arranged....
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- Foreword
- Abbreviations
- Contributors
- The trauma epidemic
- Pre-hospital emergency care
- Initial assessment
- The trauma team
- Airway management in trauma
- Assessment of breathing—thoracic injuries
- Circulatory assessment
- Head injuries
- Radiology in trauma
- Tertiary survey
- Spinal injury
- Abdominal trauma
- Pelvic injuries
- Limb injuries
- Crush injury
- Vascular trauma
- Eye trauma
- Maxillofacial trauma
- Damage control
- Paediatric trauma
- Trauma in pregnancy
- Burn injuries
- Penetrating torso injury
- Ballistic and blast injuries
- Chemical, biological, and radiation injuries
- Critical care issues in trauma
- Trauma retrieval
- Psychological aspects of trauma
- Rehabilitation after trauma
- Commonly missed injuries
- Research in trauma
- Bariatric trauma
- Major incidents
- Table 33.4. 2 × 2 Triage Table