Trauma

Trauma assessment follows a systematic, priority-based approach designed to identify and treat life-threatening injuries in order of immediacy. The primary survey (ABCDE: Airway with cervical spine protection, Breathing and ventilation, Circulation with hemorrhage control, Disability/neurological status, Exposure/environmental control) addresses immediate life threats within minutes. The secondary survey follows after stabilization and consists of a comprehensive head-to-toe physical examination with simultaneous history-gathering using the AMPLE or SAMPLE mnemonic. AMPLE stands for: Allergies (medication, food, environmental, contrast), Medications (current prescription and OTC drugs, anticoagulants are critical to identify), Past medical/surgical history (comorbidities affecting management), Last meal/oral intake (aspiration risk for potential surgery), and Events/environment surrounding the injury (mechanism of injury — high-speed MVC, fall height, penetrating vs blunt, ejection, death of another occupant). SAMPLE adds Symptoms as the first element (what the patient is experiencing: pain location, dyspnea, numbness). Understanding mechanism of injury guides the search for specific injury patterns: high-speed frontal MVC → sternal fracture, cardiac contusion, aortic injury, posterior hip dislocation; lateral MVC → rib fractures, splenic/hepatic injury, pelvic fractures; fall from height → calcaneal fractures, vertebral compression fractures, basilar...