Initial management and evaluation of the multisystem injured patient, Part 1

Trauma is the fourth leading cause of death for all Americans, with a mortality rate of 61 deaths per 100,000 people. Although the definitive place for the management of major abdominal or thoracic hemorrhage, as well as neurological or orthopedic problems, is the operating room in a tertiary care hospital, trauma is a time-related disease, and the more quickly hemorrhage is controlled and appropriate management initiated, the better the outcome.The author outlines a systematic approach to prehospital management of the trauma patient that includes a primary survey and a secondary survey. The primary survey (Part 1) focuses on life-threatening conditions that affect the airway and methods to clear the airway immediately. Once the airway is cleared, any anatomical or physiologic compromise that limits ventilation is identified and corrected, hemorrhage is controlled, and the cervical spine, if injury is suspected, is protected. The secondary survey (Part 2) is a comprehensive examination.