Bradypnoea triage — DipIMC MCQ

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EasyMajor IncidentsBradypnoea triageDipIMC

At a collapsed grandstand, a non-walking adult casualty is breathing at 10/min, responds to voice and has no catastrophic bleeding. What is the triage category?

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Correct answer: E — Priority 1 (red)

A respiratory rate below the MITT adult normal range triggers P1 because it indicates immediate physiological compromise. A verbal response does not make the low respiratory rate safe. The patient is breathing, so dead triage is inappropriate. The pearl is to trust simple physiological thresholds during major incident triage.

Reference: NHS England MITT 2023; JRCALC Guidelines 2025