Triage Question

Remember the A,B,C's for these types of questions. Airway, Breathing, Circulation.

You ALWAYS see the patient that might have an airway problem first. A blood sugar of 300 is not going to kill, or really even harm a person if it's not treated immediately. However, shortness of breath can be caused by many things and you want to evaluate that patient immediately to get them stable.

The other thing you want to think about in these types of questions is "What is an expected symptom?"

1. A patient complaining pain 6 hours after abdominal surgery.

2. A child admitted for pneumonia with a fever of 102.8

3. A patient complaining of severe pain in his fingers after a cast application.

Even though pneumonia is a breathing issue, you would expect a fever. You expect pain in a post-op patient. However, you would not expect severe pain after a cast application and you need to see this patient to evaluate for compartment syndrome.

Which patient would you see first.

A. Diabetic whose blood sugar is 300

B. A patient who is having shortness of breath from ambulating

I'm trying to understand the nursing ABC and where would a diabetic fall into place?

Which will kill patient first? Thats how I always look as these type of questions. Also DM is chronic vs SOB being an acute condition.