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Triage - Flail chest — DipIMC MCQ

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ModerateTraumaTriage - Flail chestDipIMC

At a multi-vehicle crash, an adult with paradoxical chest movement is unable to walk, breathing 34/min and has a radial pulse. What is the triage category?

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Correct answer: CPriority 1

Priority 1 is the best answer because marked tachypnoea after chest trauma indicates immediate priority. Priority 3 is less appropriate because Priority 3 is for delayed treatment with stable basic physiology; Dead is less appropriate because dead category requires absence of signs of life after simple checks. Expectant and Priority 2 are also suboptimal because they move attention away from the key pre-hospital priority.. The key DipIMC principle is to treat immediate reversible threats, communicate clearly and move the patient toward the right definitive care.

Reference: JRCALC Guidelines; NICE Major Trauma NG39; ATACC Manual