6 Treatment Priorities and Initial Management Free Online FlashCards

What are the aims of initial management?

Prevent immediate harm, stabilize the patient, and create time to identify and treat the cause.

What is triage designed to prioritize?

Triage prioritizes care by severity; it does not establish a complete diagnosis.

What does ABCDE stand for?

Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure.

What should you do when ABCDE reveals a life-threatening problem?

Treat a life-threatening problem as soon as it is found, then continue the assessment.

How should urgent treatment relate to diagnostic work?

Begin urgent treatment and diagnosis in parallel; do not delay a life-saving intervention while awaiting a definitive diagnosis.

What three groups belong in a focused differential?

Include the most likely cause, time-critical causes that must not be missed, and reversible contributors.

What are examples of reversible contributors to acute illness?

Examples include medication effects, low blood glucose, dehydration, and complications of an existing condition.

When are tests useful during initial management?

Choose tests when their results could change immediate management or the patient’s disposition.

Which patient-specific factors can change management?

Consider relevant history, medicines, allergies, baseline function, recent events, age, pregnancy, chronic illness, frailty, immune status, preferences, and documented escalation plans.

How should supportive measures be selected?

Use supportive measures for the patient’s actual needs, considering likely causes, contraindications, and local protocols rather than applying them automatically.

When should care be escalated early?

Escalate early if the patient is unstable, worsening, not responding as expected, or needs expertise or resources beyond the current setting.

What does SBAR stand for?

Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation.