Primary survey
The Primary survey (see Table 1) is concerned
with identifying life-threatening circumstances
that require immediate attention (Nettina, 2006).
The pneumonic A: Airway, B: Breathing, C: Circulation,
D: Disability and E: Exposure is utilised.
The assessment is essentially unchanged regard-less of whether or not the patient is mechanically
ventilated. Particular attention should be given to
ensuring the artificial airway is secure to prevent
dislodgement, and to checking the insertion length
of the airway for correct placement. As a caution,
the availability of additional numerical data from
the mechanical ventilator and monitoring devices
should not substitute for physical assessment of the
patient. Used in conjunction with physical assessment,
the numerics provide rapid and valuable
information, however their validity should be veri-
fied by direct patient observation to avoid inaccurate
assessment.