A casualty down with multiple fractures during a disaster, triaged in:

NVS- 2025

Medical & Surgical Nursing

Easy

Appeared in: NVS- 2025

Explanation

In disaster triage, the Yellow category is designated for victims with serious injuries that are not immediately life-threatening but require eventual medical care.
Multiple fractures, assuming no uncontrolled hemorrhage or signs of shock, fit this 'Delayed' category perfectly.
These patients are stable enough to wait for a short period while those with life-threatening (Red) injuries are treated first.
The goal of triage is to do the most good for the most people, and prioritizing care this way maximizes survival in a mass casualty incident.

Option A: The Green category is for 'minor' injuries, often called the 'walking wounded'. A casualty with multiple fractures has a serious injury and is typically unable to walk, making this category inappropriate.
Option B: The Black category is for victims who are deceased or have injuries so catastrophic that they are not expected to survive. Multiple fractures are treatable and survivable injuries.
Option C: The Red category is reserved for 'immediate' life-threatening conditions that require urgent intervention to prevent death, such as airway obstruction, severe uncontrolled bleeding, or shock.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Disaster Triage Color Coding System as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Accurate and rapid triage is a fundamental skill for nurses in emergency and disaster response. It ensures that limited resources are allocated effectively to save the maximum number of lives.
Nurses must be able to quickly assess a patient's breathing, circulation, and mental status to assign the correct triage category under high-stress conditions.
What if? If the casualty with multiple fractures was a child under 8 years old who was not breathing but had a pulse, the JumpSTART protocol would direct the rescuer to give 5 rescue breaths. If breathing starts, they would be triaged as Red (Immediate). This highlights a key difference in pediatric disaster triage.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core concept of the question, which is 'disaster triage'.
Recall the standard color-coding system used in mass casualty incidents: Red, Yellow, Green, and Black.
Analyze the specific injury presented: 'multiple fractures'.
Evaluate the severity of this injury in the context of immediate life threats. Multiple fractures are serious but typically not immediately fatal unless other complications are present.
Match the injury's severity to the appropriate triage category. 'Serious, but not immediately life-threatening' corresponds to the Yellow (Delayed) category.
Eliminate the other options: Green (too minor), Black (unsalvageable), and Red (requires an immediate life threat).

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Disaster Triage Color Coding System
Stem keywords: disaster, triage, multiple fractures, casualty
Lead-in keywords: BEST, MOST RELEVANT CLUE
Clinical cues: The key clinical finding is 'multiple fractures' in a 'disaster' setting, which points directly to the application of mass casualty triage principles.

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