Chapter 57. Triage Triage is the sorting of casualties according to clinical priorities and is a dynamic process which can be used to assess priorities for treatment and for evacuation….

Chapter 37. Paediatric cardiac arrest Introduction Cardiorespiratory arrest in children is a much rarer event than in adults. Unfortunately, the outcome for children is much worse. In children the underlying…

Chapter 28. Spinal injuries Spinal cord injury may be either complete (i.e. with no motor or sensory function below the level of injury) or incomplete (with partial preservation of sensory…

Chapter 52. Neonatal resuscitation and transport Cardiac arrest in a neonate (a baby less than 1 month old) may present from: • A planned home delivery • An unplanned birth…

Chapter 27. Bone and joint injuries Bone and joint injuries range from the relatively trivial to the life-threatening. The <C>ABC system must be followed. Only when life-threatening injuries have been…

Chapter 23. Head injuries The central nervous system has no stores of oxygen or glucose; if the blood supply is interrupted, depriving the brain of oxygen, consciousness is lost within…

Chapter 45. Nuclear and radiation incidents In the emergency response to an incident involving radioactivity, the principles of casualty care remain the same: • Rapid assessment • Administration of life-saving…

Chapter 36. The sick child Children tend to be treated with a greater sense of urgency than adults. This reflects both the instinct that most adults have to protect the…

Chapter 38. The injured child Differences between children and adults Children differ from adults in the following ways: • Size – smaller size means that a child sustains more injuries…