Long Beach Lifeguard EMR Practice Exam

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In START triage, how is it used to categorize patients?

Secondary Triage and Rapid Treatment; categorize patients by respiration and pain.

Rapid Triage and Immediate Response; prioritize patients by age.

Systematic Triage and Rapid Transport; categorize patients by injury severity only.

Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment; categorize patients by respiration, perfusion, and mental status.

Start triage uses a fast, objective sense of who needs care first by looking at three quick factors: respiration, perfusion, and mental status. First, see if the person can walk to safety; walkers are categorized as Green, meaning minor injuries and not requires immediate treatment.

For those who can’t walk, assess breathing after opening the airway. If they’re not breathing at all after airway opening, they’re tagged Black (unable to save). If they are breathing, count their respirations. If they’re breathing more than about 30 breaths per minute, they’re Red, needing immediate care.

If the respiration rate is 30 or fewer, check perfusion by feeling for a pulse or looking at capillary refill. If there’s no adequate perfusion (no pulse or slow capillary refill), they’re Red. If perfusion is present, test mental status by asking them to follow simple commands. If they can’t follow commands, they’re Red. If they can, they’re Yellow (delayed).

In short, START categorizes patients primarily by respiration, perfusion, and mental status to quickly identify who needs immediate life-saving care, who can wait, and who is beyond help.