Breathing and Circulation-Vital Phases of Trauma Assessment

Death and disability associated with traumatic injuries are consistently increasing in almost every area of the United States. In this situation, NREMT Trauma Assessment becomes essential, as it improves the condition of traumatic patients gradually. In this blog post, you will know the two aspects of trauma assessment named breathing and circulation. 

Breathing

Patient Assessment EMT assesses the breathing and ventilation of traumatic injury patients. The steps include the following-

Visual Inspection of the Chest

Initial assessment consists of a visual inspection of the chest of the patient to diagnose any injury. The experts check paradoxical chest movement, tracheal deviation, and penetrating injuries.

Auscultation of the Lungs 

NREMT Medical Assessment auscultates the lungs of trauma patients to listen to any reduced breath sounds. Simultaneously, EMTs check the chest palpitation to identify any crepitus symptoms. 

Chest Thoracostomy

If any trauma patient has tension pneumothorax symptoms, medical experts should perform chest thoracostomy or needle decompression immediately.

Oxygen Saturation of Patients 

Emergency Medical Technicians evaluate the oxygen saturation of the patient. One should also consider X-ray imaging or ultrasound of the patient as an adjunct to the patient physical examination. 

Circulation

The circulation assessment controls bleeding in the brain and maintains enough perfusion. Internal bleeding or hemorrhage is a common cause of avoidable death in most trauma victims. Hence, medical professionals associated with Trauma Assessment perform the following steps-

Visual Evaluation of the Patient 

NREMT Trauma Assessment starts circulation with a visual evaluation of a trauma patient. The visual evaluation checks any signs related to pallor or any other type of shock and hemorrhage.

Check Femoral and Carotid Pulses 

Experts with an NRP Certificate check femoral and carotid pulses if they find that the skin of a patient is diaphoretic and cold. 

Performance of Vital Organs

NREMT Medical Assessment also gives certain clues on the performance of the patient's vital organs. However, medical professionals should do so with proper care if the patients have possible head injuries. 

Actions based on Capillary, Venous, and Arterial Bleeding 

Hemorrhages may be of three different types, which include capillary, venous, and arterial bleedings. 

Overview of Capillary Bleeding 

Capillary bleeding occurs in the capillaries, which refer to a few tiny blood vessels connecting the veins and arteries. 

Overview of Venous Bleeding 

Venous bleeding takes place in the trauma patient's veins, which act as blood carriers to the heart. 

Overview of Arterial Bleeding

Arterial bleeding takes place in the patient's arteries, which transport blood between the body and the heart. 

Arterial bleeding is a severe type of bleeding. It may cause by any penetrating injury or blunt trauma. Arterial bleeding leads to exerting pressure from the heartbeat, which creates blood clots more challenging. 

Hence, when traumatic patients experience venous or capillary bleeding, Trauma Assessment experts gain control of it by applying direct pressure. On the other hand, if the patient has arterial bleeding, experts have to apply a tourniquet. 

Therefore, breathing and circulation assessment followed by appropriate actions to control hemorrhage or bleeding prevent the death of many traumatic patients.

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