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| By Joshua Bucher, BA, EMT-B Utilizing the CDC’s Trauma Triage Guidelines in the field The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Trauma Triage Guidelines, composed by the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma and the National Highway Traffi c Safety case highlights some of the new guide- lines. The actual changes were made in 2006, but the CDC only published the report in 2009, highlighting the changes and the reasons behind them. Administration, help EMS providers triage trauma patients to the proper facility. These guidelines offer patient-specifi c criteria used for determining which facility a patient sustaining traumatic injuries needs to provide the level of defi nitive treatment required. Two years ago, the CDC released a report on the updated triage guidelines. Unfortunately, they have not been actively circulated among all EMS providers, yet they are something all of us must under- stand and be able to apply. The following Scenario You are dispatched to a motor vehicle collision with unknown injuries. Upon arriving, you find a 67-year-old female standing outside of her car complaining of head pain. She is wearing a cervical collar that was applied by a first responder. Upon questioning, she reveals she was an unrestrained passenger in a head-on collision with a pole while trav- eling at an unknown velocity. Inspection of the vehicle reveals an 18-inch intru- sion into the engine compartment. Her initial vitals are 220/130 BP, 22 RR, 98 bpm and 96 SpO2 . Further assessment on scene revealed sluggish pupils bilaterally. She was slightly confused and lethargic with a GCS of 14. Prior to transport, the already-collared patient was immobilized on a longboard and received O2 at 12 lpm by a non-rebreather mask. You are unable to determine her medications while en route to the local community hospital because she did not bring her list with her, but she tells you she suffers from diabetes and hyperten- sion, has had a past MI and had one kidney removed. You perform a complete trauma assessment and find that she has right upper quadrant abdominal tender- ness upon palpation, which she rates at an 8/10 in severity. She complains of EMSWORLD.com | JULY 2011 55 Photo by Dan Limmer