CDC 2011 trauma criteria

Trauma is a tissue injury that occurs as a as a result of violence or an accident, which may result in wounds, broken bones, or internal organ damage. Triage is an assessment of the physiology and anatomy of the patient's injury, the mechanism of the injury, and special patient considerations.

EMS providers can refer to the 2011 guidelines published by the CDC when assessing the patient's injury, deciding which trauma center or hospital is best equipped to manage the patient's specific injuries, and transporting the patient there.

  1. At the top of the page, click the Forms tab.

    The contents of the Forms tab appear, listing all the forms your ESO Suite administrator has enabled in the Admin module.

  2. Click CDC 2011 Trauma Criteria.

    The CDC 2011 Trauma Criteria dialog box appears.

  3. For any of the following fields, click None, or click the list icon to the right of the field, select all the appropriate options from the menu that appears, then click OK or click outside the menu.

    Field Information needed

    Vital Signs and Consciousness

    An assessment of critical vital signs and level of consciousness the patient exhibits.

    Example: Systolic blood pressure less than 90 mmHg, a respiratory rate requiring ventilation

    Anatomy of Injury

    A general description of the injury type and part of the body that sustained the injury.

    Example: Penetrating injuries to the torso, fractures to proximal long-bones, open or depressed fractures to the skull, deformity of the chest wall

    Mechanism of Injury

    How the trauma and its associated forces directly or indirectly impacted the patient.

    Example: Falls, motor vehicle intrusion or ejection

    Special Patient or System Considerations

    Any extenuating patient conditions, injuries, or contraindications the EMS personnel must consider when treating the patient for trauma.

    Example: Pregnancy greater than 20 weeks along, bleeding disorders

  4. For Trauma Level, click the field or the list icon to the right of the field, then select the appropriate single option from the menu that appears to indicate the severity of the patient's traumatic injuries.

    • Level I (life threatening): The patient meets mechanism of injury criteria, with unstable vital signs or potential life threatening injuries.

    • Level II (potentially life threatening): The patient meets mechanism of injury criteria with stable vital signs pre-hospital and upon arrival.

    • Level III (no obvious life threatening injuries): The patient meets mechanism of injury criteria with stable vital signs and no obvious life threatening injuries.

  5. Click OK.

    The dialog box closes, and a green triangle appears in the upper right corner of the form button, to indicate that data exists in this form.