Combat Triage and Mass Casualty Management

Triage comes from the French verb "trier". It is the process of prioritizing the injured for the rational allocation of treatment when limited resources and facilities are available. In war times with potential medical constraints, long evacuation times, and difficult situations, the triage procedure can be most challenging. We sought to assess our triage system. Our triage system was based on the following principles: Sorting of military injured for immediate medical needs. Using standard and up to date guidelines for identifying the appropriate triage categories for specific injuries. Accounting for limited resources for treatment and transport, as well as tactical considerations for rendering medical care. Provision for returning to ordinary routine, as soon as possible. Wound severity, number of casualties, environment conditions, and available resources, must be considered when preparing the team for a successful response. Taking into account the principles of combat triage, the trauma team can offer optimum medical care, at the optimum time, to a larger number of wounded victims on the battlefield. The assessment and rating of the severity of injuries in war trauma varies and differs from civil conditions. In this paper, the ranking and different triage systems used on the battlefield during the war were assessed and differences and distinctions identified. Other topics discussed include predicting the need for large blood transfusion, hemodynamic parameters, and special conditions, such as chemical warfare.