Primary and secondary assessments
This initial, life-saving assessment focuses strictly on identifying immediate threats to life, evaluating the airway, breathing, severe circulation status, and gross exsanguination.
What is the Primary Survey?
This specific clinical term describes a marked loss of skin elasticity—frequently evaluated by pinching skin on the hand—which serves as a major indicator of severe dehydration.
What is poor Skin Turgor?
This specific ocular emergency is present when the iris is found physically coming out or herniating through the outer structural layers of the eye.
What is a Ruptured Globe?
These specific rib pairs are designated as floating ribs because they originate on the thoracic vertebrae but lack any anterior costal cartilage attachment.
What are the last 2 ribs (Pairs 11 and 12)?
This is the exact percentage concentration of ambient oxygen found in the standard room air that we breathe every day.
What is 21%?
This specific medical clock begins the exact second a catastrophic trauma patient collapses, giving the clinician a strict 10-minute window to stabilize life-threats and make a transport decision.
What is platinum ten
The clinical grouping that explicitly consists of these four distinct metrics: pulse rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, and skin characteristics (color, temperature, moisture)
What are the 4 Main Vital Signs?
Along with midline bony tenderness and extremity numbness, this involuntary, persistent erection in male patients is an absolute red flag for a severe cervical spinal cord injury.
What is Priapism?
In the DCAP-BTLS trauma framework, these are the exact clinical conditions represented by the letters P and S.
What are Punctures/Penetrations and Swelling?
This device is the clinical gold standard for delivering a highly concentrated, high-flow dose of oxygen (10–15 L/min) to a severely hypoxic patient who is still breathing spontaneously.
What is a Non-Rebreather Mask?
This full-body physical evaluation format must be executed efficiently and completed within a maximum target window of exactly 3 minutes.
What is the Rapid Trauma Assessment?
A blood pressure measurement showing a systolic reading between 120–139 mmHg or a diastolic reading between 80–89 mmHg falls into this exact classification.
What is Pre-hypertensive?
This specific type of uneven pupillary presentation is noted when one pupil is significantly larger or smaller than the other, pointing to potential intracranial pressure.
What is Anisocoria (or Anisocoric pupils)?
This specific clinical term describes a physical crunching, grating, or popping sensation felt or heard under the skin when fractured bone ends rub together or when air escapes into soft tissue.
What is Crepitus?
This built-in mechanical safety interface features two rigid prongs on the oxygen tank valve to ensure only a matching medical oxygen regulator can be physically attached.
What is a 2-Pin Index System?
This category of patient evaluation is performed only after immediate life-threats are ruled out, and it includes gathering a detailed history, measuring exact vital signs, and performing a focused physical exam
What is the Secondary Survey?
A patient showing a systolic blood pressure reading over 180 mmHg or a diastolic reading over 110 mmHg is classified in this life-threatening medical tier.
What is a Hypertensive Crisis?
In a suspected cervical spine injury, point tenderness or pain located explicitly in this specific region of the neck serves as an absolute red flag for structural column damage.
What is Midline / Bony vertebral tenderness?
These characteristic lung sounds are lower-pitched, rustling in nature, and feature an inspiratory phase that is physically longer than the expiratory phase.
What are Vesicular lung sounds?
To verify the structural integrity and safety of a compressed medical oxygen cylinder, compliance standards require it to undergo this specific test every 5 years.
What is a Hydrostatic Test?
This is the letter in the AVPU consciousness scale that describes a patient who does not open their eyes spontaneously but will clear their eyes or move when you speak directly to them.
What is V (Voice / Responding to Voice)?
This specific respiratory pattern is characterized by deep, gasping inspirations separated by completely irregular, sudden periods of apnea.
What are Biot's (or Cheyne-Stokes) respirations?
During an abdominal trauma evaluation, these are the two distinct pelvic region red flags that require immediate, gentle structural stability checks.
What are the Iliac Crests and Pubic Symphysis?
In the trauma acronym DCAP-BTLS, the first three letters D-C-A stand for these three distinct structural findings.
What are Deformities, Contusions, and Abrasions?
Under rigid medical gas equipment guidelines, an oxygen tank reaches its absolute maximum allowed life cycle and must be permanently retired this many years after its manufacture date.
What is 25 Years?