Casualty Monitoring

What to remember

• Reassess the casualty every 5 to 10 minutes until you hand him off to medical personnel.CLS M18 Slides, PDF p.6
• Follow MARCH PAWS again: check old bleeding treatments for re-bleeding first, then make sure the airway is open.CLS M18 Slides, PDF p.6
• Then watch breathing rate, pulse and level of consciousness, and write any change on the DD Form 1380; if medical personnel arrive mid-check, stop and hand off.CLS M18 Slides, PDF p.7
• Check AVPU (Alert, Verbal, Pain, Unresponsive) every 15 minutes, or every 5 to 10 if seriously wounded; a drop can mean he is getting worse.CLS M18 Slides, PDF p.8
• A casualty who is not alert should not keep weapons or communications equipment.CLS M18 Slides, PDF p.8
• Check the pulse at the neck (carotid) or wrist (radial) with your index and middle fingers, not your thumb; no radial pulse suggests shock.CLS M18 Notes, PDF p.4
• Look, listen and feel for breathing; if he becomes unconscious or breathes fewer than 8 times a minute, insert an NPA.CLS M18 Slides, PDF p.11

Where people go wrong

• Pressing too hard on the carotid artery, which can make the casualty lightheaded.CLS M18 Skill Instructions, PDF p.2
• Telling the casualty you are measuring his breathing, so he changes his breathing rate.CLS M18 Skill Instructions, PDF p.3
• Using your thumb to check a pulse.CLS M18 Notes, PDF p.4
• Causing pain on an injured area during an AVPU check.CLS M18 Skill Instructions, PDF p.4

Check yourself

Questions on this module, each with the reason and the slide it came from.