ECC Triage Flashcards
what is the 5 point triage system with wait time limits?
0 mins - immediate
10 mins - very urgent
60 mins - urgent
120 mins - standard
240 mins - non-urgent
what is the Acute Patient Physiological Laboratory Evaluation (APPLE)? what variations exist?
- 10-point system (APPLEfull) vs. 5-point system (APPLEfast)
- Assess severity of diseases presenting to ICU
- Requires blood results
Triage Team consists of
Client - Receptionist - Veterinary Technician - Veterinarian
compenents / stages of triage
- telephone triage
- waiting room triage
- primary survey
- secondary survey
main components of telephone triage
- extract information
Signalment
1° complaint
Duration / time of event
Breathing status
Gum color
Mentation
Ambulatory status - Determine urgency
Immediate consultation
Consultation (1-2 hours)
Later appointment - First aid & transport
Bandage, cooling, immobilize, etc.
Referral: emergency
Initial stabilization
Sedation & analgesia
Medical records
ETA
conditions requiring immediate consultation
- Respiratory distress
- Choking, gagging, coughing
- Cyanosis, white MM
- Collapse, loss of consciousness
- Status epilepticus
- Heat stress / heatstroke
- Distended abdomen, unproductive retching
- Massive bleeding
- Inability to urinate / no urine production
- Acute poisoning (antifreeze, xylitol, rodenticide, chocolate, etc.)
- Electric shock, burns
conditions requiring Consultation ASAP (1-2 hours)
- Cluster seizures
- Paresis / paraplegia
- Esophageal / linear foreign body
- Trauma, bite wounds, fractures
- Stranguria
- Severe vomiting / diarrhea
- Hematemesis, hematochezia
- Ophthalmological abnormalities
- Acute deterioration
- Lethargy, recumbency
- Pain
Waiting Room Triage
- what do we immediately examine upon arrival?
- what happens if we find life-threatening abnormalities?
ØImmediately examined upon arrival:
- Level of consciousness
- Respiratory pattern, rate, effort, noise
- HR, MM, CRT, pulse quality
- Temperature
ØLife-threatening abnormalities:
- Straight to triage / ER area
- Medical urgency, not “first come, first served” - How long animals can safely wait?
examples of life-threatening abnormalities
- White, cyanotic, grey muddy, severely hyperemic MM
- Bradycardia: cat <120 bpm, dog < 40-60bpm
- Tachycardia: cat >240 bpm, dog >180 bpm
- Irregular heart rhythm
- Perforated or open body cavities
- Distended abdomen
- Hyperthermia >41°C, heatstroke
- Hypothermia <36.7°C
- Stanguria with firm bladder
- Dystocia
- Acute poisoning
- Burns, chemical injury
** If ever in doubt… **
Waiting Room Triage
- things we need verbal consent for
- IV access
- Initial diagnostics & stabilization
- Emergency procedures
- Resuscitation status
Triage Area should have:
- Oxygen supply
- Vascular access supplies
- IV fluids
- ECG monitor
- NIBP monitor (oscillometric, Doppler)
- Stocked crash cart
- In-house laboratory equipment
basic emergency drugs should be on hand to treat what conditions
hyperkalemia
hypoglycemia
hypocalcemia
seizures
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
malignant ventricular arrhythmias
anaphylaxis
Primary Survey - what does it assess? when should we start CPR?
ØRoutine approach to emergency patient:
- Airway
- Breathing
- Circulation
- Disabilities
> unresponsive, apneic patient > start CPR
ØMajor body systems: respiratory, cardiovascular, central nervous
ØBrief pertinent history (presenting complaint):
- signalment, 1° problem, onset & progression, treatment, preexisting disorders - medications, dose, timing
Respiratory System Evaluation
- what do we do / look for in our visual exam?
Ø Hands-off visual examination:
- Orthopnea, nostrils flare, cheek puffing, skin sucking
- ↑ insp. effort: upper airway obstruction
- ↑ exp. effort: intrathoracic lower airway obstruction
- Rapid shallow breathing: pleural space disease, ↓ lung compliance
- Paradoxical breathing
- Cyanosis (SpO2 < 75%, PaO2 40-50 mmHg)
- Brown MM: methemoglobinemia (e.g. acetaminophen toxicity)
Respiratory System Evaluation
- what do we look for with our thoracic auscultation?
- Stertor (snore) vs. stridor (high-pitched noise): upper airway issues
- Wheezes (whistling): small airway inflammatory disease
- Crackles: pulmonary edema, pneumonia, contusions
- Dull / quiet: pleural space disease, lung consolidation
Respiratory System Evaluation
- what do we look for with pulse oximetry? what is normal vs abnormal?
- 100% hyperoxemia (PaO2 >110 mmHg)
- > 95% normal (PaO2 80-110 mmHg)
- <90% severe hypoxemia (PaO2 <60 mmHg)
basic components of respiratory system evaluation
Ø Hands-off visual examination
Ø Thoracic auscultation
Ø Pulse oximetry
first part of emergency stabilization
- what should we do?
- what do we do to stabilize respiratory system?
Ø Minimize stress + handling
Ø Sedation, sedation, sedation
- Butorphanol 0.2-0.4mg/kgIV,IM
- Acepromazine 0.01-0.05mg/kgIV
ØOxygen supplementation
- Flow by, mask
- Hood, cage
- Nasal prongs, intranasal cannula (unilateral, bilateral)
- High flow nasal cannula
Ø Endotracheal intubation + positive pressure ventilation
Ø Emergency tracheostomy
Ø Thoracocentesis
Cardiovascular System Evaluation
- main things we look at
Ø Perfusion parameters
Ø Heart auscultation + pulse assessment
Ø Shock index (HR ÷ systolic BP) >1.0
Ø ECG rhythm
Ø Non-invasive blood pressures