Pediatric prehospital medicine in mass casualty incidents

The prehospital provider is met with unique challenges when responding to a call and finding a pediatric aged patient that requires evaluation, treatment, and transfer to a medical facility. Many mass causality incidents secondary to natural disaster, man-made disasters, or acts of terrorisms have exposed the vulnerabilities of prehospital emergency medical services personnel in the evaluation, treatment, and transport of the pediatric population. Many lessons learned from past events have been published with agendas to incorporate the needs of the transport of pediatric patients. This article will review the issues and recommendations of the prehospital personnel's role with expectations that pediatric aged victims are rendered optimal care.