
Definitions
- Primary survey: identify and treat life-threatening injuries
- Secondary survey: head to toe examination, brief focused history, exclusion of major injuries
- Tertiary survey: a patient evaluation that identifies and catalogues all injuries after the initial resuscitation and operative intervention ( Grossman et al, 2000)
What is the difference between primary and secondary survey?
Secondary survey
- Introduction. The secondary survey is commenced after the primary survey has been completed, immediate life threats identified and managed, and the child is stable.
- Preparation:
- Performing the examination: Inspect the face and scalp. ...
How to do the primary survey?
Primary and secondary survey
- The primary survey. ...
- Airway and the cervical spine. ...
- Breathing. ...
- Circulation. ...
- Disability (mental state) The assessment of 'Disability' is typically the responsibility of the airway doctor - although the assessment doctor may add and complement to this by assessing peripheral function.
- Exposure and environmental control. ...
- Radiology. ...
- Secondary survey. ...
What is a primary survey?
The primary survey, therefore, is a general approach wherein the student strives to understand the case from a generic perspective. This first general impression gives you an idea about the seriousness of the situation and how it affects the patient. The primary survey also gives you an idea about the mental state and stress of the patient.
How to do the primary survey and Dr ABC?
R – Response
- A – Alert: first of all, is the casualty moving or talking? If not, proceed to V.
- V – Voice: Try speaking to the casualty loudly and clearly to see if they respond to speech. ...
- P – Place: Place your hand on the collarbone of the casualty and carefully but firmly shake them. ...
- U – Unresponsive: at this point, you can assume the casualty is unresponsive.

What is a primary survey?
The primary survey is the initial assessment and management of a trauma patient. It is conducted to detect and treat actual or imminent life threats and prevent complications from these injuries. A systematic approach using ABCDE is used.
What is secondary survey?
The secondary survey is performed once the patient has been resuscitated and stabilised. It involves a more thorough head-to-toe examination, and the aim is to detect other significant but not immediately life-threatening injuries.
What is the difference between primary and secondary survey?
Definition. A primary assessment is the initial, first examination and evaluation of a patient by a medical person where a patient is stabilized. A secondary assessment is the evaluation where a detailed patient history is taken and diagnosis made.
What is secondary survey example?
The secondary survey is a systematic approach to identify any bleeding or fractures. This system starts at the head and works down to legs. Bleeding: Carryout out a head to toe check for bleeding.
What is the difference between primary survey and secondary survey in emergency?
The secondary survey is commenced after the primary survey has been completed, immediate life threats identified and managed, and the child is stable. Continue to monitor the child's: Mental state. Airway, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation.
What is primary survey in first aid?
The primary survey is a quick way to find out how to treat any life threating conditions a casualty may have in order of priority. We can use DRABC to do this: Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing and Circulation.
When do you do a secondary survey?
The secondary survey is a rapid but thorough head to toe examination assessment to identify potential injuries. It should be performed after the primary survey and the initial stabilization is complete.
When should a primary survey and secondary survey be used?
Once you have completed a primary survey and treated any life-threatening conditions, move on to a secondary survey. Ask a responsive casualty and those around them questions about any incident that may have occurred. Your aim is to find out more about the casualty's history, signs and symptoms.
When should a primary survey be used?
You should use the primary survey whenever you discover a casualty – someone who is injured or has fallen ill. This may be due to an identifiable accident or incident, such as a fall, or the cause may initially be unapparent, such as due to an individual's long-term medical condition, like diabetes.
What is the purpose of the primary assessment?
The purpose of the Primary Assessment (aka Primary Survey or Initial Assessment) is to determine the nature of the primary complaint and rule out, prioritize, and treat any immediate life-threatening airway, breathing and circulation problems.
Why is primary and secondary survey important in assessing a victim?
Using these two assessments, you will be able to identify whether a person is in a life-threatening situation. You will know what injuries they may have and the level of danger that requires immediate treatment.
When is a tertiary survey used?
The trauma tertiary survey is designed to identify missed injuries and should be performed within 24 hours of admission to hospital.
What are 5 main components of secondary patient assessment?
Airway patency. Breathing effectiveness. Pulse, skin temperature, capillary refill, and color. Neurologic status.
What is secondary assessment in emergency care?
OVERVIEW. The secondary assessment is a rapid and systematic assessment of an injured pediatric patient from head to toe to identify all injuries, or a rapid and systematic assessment of a patient who is seriously ill when the cause of signs and symptoms is unclear.
What is a tertiary assessment?
Tertiary survey is a simple and easy approach to address the issue of undiagnosed injuries in trauma patients. Tertiary survey consists of reevaluating patients 24 hours after admission by means of an anamnesis protocol, physical examination, review of complementary tests and request for new tests when necessary.
What acronym is used for a secondary assessment?
Secondary Diagnosis and Treatment This includes a focused history and physical examination involving the individual, family, and any witnesses as relevant. In terms of history, you could follow the acronym SPAM: Signs and symptoms, Past medical history, Allergies, and Medications (Table 8).
What is the primary survey?
The purpose of the primary survey is to rapidly identify and manage impending or actual life threats to the patient.
What should be ordered after secondary survey?
Appropriate analgesia, antibiotics or tetanus immunisation should be ordered. Following the secondary survey, the priorities for further investigation and treatment may now be considered and a plan for definitive care established.
What is an airway assessment?
A complete airway assessment also requires an assessment of the anterior neck - looking in particular for signs of blunt or penetrating trauma, or an impending airway life threat. This requires the airway doctor to open the C-spine collar whilst an assistant maintains manual in-line stabilization of the cervical spine.
What should be noted during a pupil's response to light?
Pupil response to light should be noted, as should movement in all four limbs. The assessment doctor should check for this as well as reflexes if the prior to intubation where possible. The blood glucose level should be measured on arrival and periodically during the management of the trauma patient.
What is secondary survey?
The secondary survey consists of two parts – visual assessment and verbal questioning. The visual component is the ‘head to toe’ physical assessment and the verbal component is basic medical questioning using the ‘SAMPLE’ acronym. Here is how these are done:
What is DRSABCD survey?
This is a systematic approach you take each and every time you come across a patient, regardless of where you find them. It helps you by not forgetting stuff, getting you hurt, or getting your patient hurt. It looks like this:
Initial Assessment (Primary Survey)
The initial assessment is designed to help the Emergency Medical Responder detect all immediate threats to life.
Focused History and Physical Exam (Secondary Survey)
A focused history and physical exam should be performed after the initial assessment. It is assumed that the life-threatening problems have been found and corrected. If you have a patient with a life-threatening problem that requires intervention (i.e. CPR) you may not get to this component.
PRIMARY SURVEY
The goal of the primary survey is to help emergency first responders to detect immediate threats to life. Immediate life threats typically involve patients’ responsiveness, airways, and breathing, which are the most important information in deciding your treatment.
SECONDARY SURVEY
The secondary survey should commence after the primary survey is completed, immediate life-threats are identified and managed, and casualty is stable. The secondary survey is for less obvious problems that may require first aid.
Share this Content
I am a Medical Professional with a passion for writing, blogging, playing, computers, and of course patient care. My writing in this medical blog will reflect my passion, and you are welcome to be a part of this venture. This medical blog is a tribute to all the great medical pioneers, and to the ultimate source of wisdom, God.
What are the sources of secondary research?
The following sources can assist researchers in doing secondary research: Academic peer-reviewed journals – These often include original research undertaken by authors or researchers themselves.
What is primary research?
Primary research refers to research that has involved the collection of original data specific to a particular research project (Gratton & Jones, 2010). When doing primary research, the researcher gathers information first-hand rather than relying on available information in databases and other publications.
What is a bias in a survey?
Biased methodology or sampling. If a survey or interview is based on biased methodology, the results will be biased as well. A common type is the so-called ‘response bias, which occurs when participants answer survey or interview questions systematically while in a certain perspective (Wilson & Joye, 2019).
What are the two forms of research?
Despite the differences between these methods, such can be classified into one of two forms: primary research or secondary research . These two forms of research help researchers achieve different objectives, but both can prove to be helpful in ensuring that a study is well-researched.
Is primary research more expensive than secondary research?
Additionally, primary research is more expensive compared to secondary research. Fortunately, technology helps ease the burden of doing original research today.
Can a researcher use both primary and secondary research?
A researcher can choose to use either or both primary or secondary research methods, depending on their objectives. For instance, primary research is ideal if a researcher seeks to make new discoveries or explore new aspects of their field of study.
Why do we do secondary assessment?
Reason for the assessment: The secondary assessment goes beyond stabilizing the patient; the focus is more on diagnosis and treatment. A secondary assessment can only be performed after a patient has been stabilized and all vital signs are stable.
Who is responsible for secondary assessment?
In the case of a secondary assessment, the person evaluating the patient is usually a medical doctor. In some doctor’s offices, secondary assessment may be left to a physician’s assistant.
What is the purpose of a primary assessment?
Purpose. A primary assessment is completed in order to correctly assess and stabilize a patient who may have life-threatening injuries. A secondary assessment focuses on diagnosing the patient and suggesting a course of treatment.
Who performs the assessment?
The professionals that perform the assessment: In the case of a primary assessment, the person performing the assessment may be an emergency medical technician, paramedic, nurse, or doctor. In the field, an EMT or paramedic is the person who first assesses a patient. At a walk-in clinic there is usually a triage nurse who assesses a patient, ...
