Tactical Trauma Assessment

What to remember

• Run the assessment in Tactical Field Care, working through MARCH PAWS in order.CLS M05 Notes, PDF p.9
• Put on latex-free gloves when you can, then do a blood sweep: a fast head-to-toe check for hidden life-threatening bleeding, including neck, armpits and groin.CLS M05 Slides, PDF p.9-10
• Stop all life-threatening bleeding. A tourniquet goes directly on skin, 2-3 inches above the bleeding, and a second goes side-by-side if the first does not work.CLS M05 Slides, PDF p.12
• Check the airway for snoring, gurgling, blood or objects. Take out what you can see, never do a blind finger sweep, and use jaw-thrust if a neck or spine injury is possible.CLS M05 Slides, PDF p.13-14
• Expose the chest, and if there is a penetrating wound, cover it with a chest seal, vented if you have one.CLS M05 Slides, PDF p.17
• Recheck every earlier treatment, watch for shock (weak or absent radial pulse, confusion), and prevent hypothermia, even in hot weather.CLS M05 Slides, PDF p.18-20
• Tell the casualty what you are doing, keep leaders and medics informed, and record everything on the DD Form 1380 that goes with the casualty.CLS M05 Notes, PDF p.8

Where people go wrong

• Doing a blind finger sweep of the mouth. Remove only what you can see.CLS M05 Slides, PDF p.13
• Putting a dressing on and forgetting it. Check that it is not too tight and still controls bleeding.CLS M05 Slides, PDF p.23
• Using a pressure patch on a penetrating eye injury, or covering both eyes when only one is hurt.CLS M05 Notes, PDF p.6
• Going to burn care before you have checked MARCH.CLS M05 Notes, PDF p.7

Check yourself

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