This paper describes an approach to training emergency responders for mass casualty incidents. The approach is derived from a methodology and supporting software system called Summit. The Summit approach uses an integration of scenarios, hierarchical task analysis, interaction modeling, and expected utility theory to represent how actors engage in complex tasks; here we model mass casualty inci...

Efficient management of mass casualty incidents is complex, since regular emergency medical services structures have to be switched to a temporary “disaster mode” involving additional operational and tactical structures. Most of the relevant decisions have to be taken on-site in a provisional and chaotic environment. Data gathering about affected persons is one side of the coin; the other side ...

The objective of study was to evaluate the incidence and mortality rates of disasters and mass casualty incidents (MCIs) over the past 10 yr in the administrative system of Korea administrative system and to examine their relationship with population characteristics. This was a population-based cross-sectional study. We calculated the nationwide incidence, as well as the crude mortality and inj...

There is a long-standing, broad assumption that hospitals will ably receive and efficiently provide comprehensive care to victims following a mass casualty event. Unfortunately, the majority of medical major incident plans are insufficiently focused on strategies and procedures that extend beyond the pre-hospital and early-hospital phases of care. Recent events underscore two important lessons:...

Disaster planning and response to a mass casualty incident pose unique demands on the medical community. Because they would be required to confront many casualties with bodily injury and surgical problems, surgeons in particular must become better educated in disaster management. Compared with routine practice, triage principles in disasters require an entirely different approach to evaluation ...

BACKGROUND In a mass casualty situation, medical personnel must rapidly assess and prioritize patients for treatment and transport. Triage is an important tool for medical management in disaster situations. Lack of common international and Swedish triage guidelines could lead to confusion. Attending the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) provider course is becoming compulsory in the northern p...

This study sought to determine whether fitting a more aggressive seat belt reminder system to new vehicles would be cost-beneficial for Australia. While seat belt wearing rates have been observed around 95% in the front seat, non-wearing rates in casualty crashes are as high as 33% among persons killed and 19% among seriously injured occupants. Benefits were computed for three device options (s...

BACKGROUND Hospitals have a critically important role in the management of mass causality incidents (MCI), yet there is little information to assist emergency planners. A significantly limiting factor of a hospital's capability to treat those affected is its surgical capacity. We therefore intended to provide data about the duration and predictors of life saving operations. METHODS The data o...

Since the time of the Napoleonic wars, health care providers have discussed, debated and invented multiple triage systems designed to rapidly triage victims in order to save the most lives. A key medical procedure in a mass casualty incident (MCI) is the rapid and accurate sorting of victims with life, limb, or serious injuries from those without. There are different triage methods proposed for...

Introduction: Triage in a disaster scenario centers around doing the greatest good for number of people. There are variety triage systems, and to this date there is no US national endorsement one system because dynamic procedure fixed rule it. The Simple Rapid Treatment (START); Sort, Assess, Life-saving interventions, Treatment/Transport (SALT); Sacco; CareFlight; JumpSTART; Pediatric Tape (PT...