Triage in Mass Casualty Incidents: Our Preparedness and Response – A Cross-sectional Study from a Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan
Journal Title: TRAUMA INTERNATIONAL - Year 2018, Vol 0, Issue 0
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Trauma is the major concern of the modern world. The ever-intensifying number of causalities being presented with the scarcity of resources, heavily burdens the emergency departments, which are the fundamental centers of a hospital. For a smooth flow and an efficient ER, implementation of a strong triage system with trained emergency staff personnel remains a dire necessity. The present study is aimed to review the awareness and implication of triage among emergency personnel, to evaluate the preparedness of emergency staff involved in the management of massive trauma casualties and highlight the self-identified deficiencies of the hospital and pre-hospital system. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the preparedness, knowledge, and implication of triage by emergency room personnel at Accident and Emergency Department, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi. The target population for the survey included casualty medical officers (CMOs), assistant casualty medical officers (ACMOs), nursing staff, and casualty operation theatre staff working in all three shifts morning, evening and night from December 2016 to February 2017. Results: Of the 126 respondents questioned, 32% had no concept of triage. 70% of the respondents mentioned that they have never witnessed any patient already triaged brought to their ER indicating a poor onsite triage system. Only 23% (n = 29) received any training for triage before in past 5 years. Therefore, 97.61% emphasized the need of refresher training programs. On testing with standard scenarios of triage, it was investigated that 27 out of 126 participants answered all the questions correctly. No training drill or courses had been conducted for disaster management of the surveyed hospital. Conclusion: Effective and early disposal of patients from accident and emergency needs trained triage team. Thus, it is imperative that training of ER personnel to be conducted as a continuous process. This study finding will be useful for planning future triage awareness programs in the form of classroom courses and hospital drills to curb mass casualties.
Authors and Affiliations
Muhammad Qasim Ali, Muhammad Muzzammil, Zehra Batool, Muhammad Saeed Minhas
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP630788
- DOI -
- Views 141
- Downloads 0
A Rare and Atypical Case Report of Combined Rupture of Patellar Tendon, Anterior Cruciate Ligament, Medial Collateral ligament, and Lateral Meniscus Managed Operatively
Introduction: Extensor mechanism disruption with other ligament injuries at knee is rare. Rupture of the patellar tendon (PT) usually occurs at the inferior pole of patella leading to proximal retraction of 3–5 cm due to...
Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Plate Osteosynthesis (MIPPO) using Locking Compression Plate (LCP) in Distal Tibial Fractures: A Prospective Study of 50 Cases.
Background: The limited soft tissue, subcutaneous location of large portion of tibia and precarious blood supply renders the treatment of distal tibial fracture very challenging. The main treatment of this type of fractu...
Functional outcome of Unstable Inter-trochanteric femur fracture patients treated with Trochanteric fixation nail
Introduction: Inter-trochanteric fractures are disabling injuries that most commonly affect the elderly population. These fractures have a tremendous impact on both the health care system and society in general. These fr...
New Implants in Trauma Surgery and Trauma Education – Viewpoints of Experts
Trauma as a faculty is developing rapidly along with understanding of fracture patterns, change in trauma scenario and also development in new implants. However outreach of these new developments and percolation and appl...
Decision Making in Acetabulum Fractures – When to Operate and When Not to?
he complexity of acetabulum fractures has always been challenging to the operating surgeon. In the past 50 years, following pioneering work by LeTournel and Judet, there is better clarity to the treating surgeon regardin...