RUHS, Jaipur, PB B.Sc Nursing Entrance-2018
Medical Surgical Nursing
Easy

In triage yellow colour denotes?

Appeared in: RUHS, Jaipur, PB B.Sc Nursing Entrance-2018

Explanation

  • In triage, the yellow color signifies the 'Delayed' or 'Urgent' category.
  • These patients have serious injuries that require medical attention but are not immediately life-threatening.
  • They are considered less critically injured than Red-tagged patients and can wait for a short period (e.g., up to a few hours) for definitive care.
  • Examples include patients with major bone fractures without shock or large wounds without uncontrolled bleeding.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

  • Option A: This describes the Red (Immediate) triage category. These patients have life-threatening conditions that require immediate intervention to prevent death.
  • Option B: This term is too general. While yellow-tagged injuries are not immediately life-threatening, this category also includes Green-tagged (Minor) patients. 'Less critically injured' is a more precise description of the Yellow category's place in the triage hierarchy.
  • Option D: This describes the Red (Immediate) triage category. These are the highest priority patients who have a chance of survival if treated immediately.

Related Visual

Visual explanation — Related Visual
Clinical Relevance
  • Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Triage Color Coding System as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
  • A core nursing competency in emergency and disaster response is the ability to perform rapid and accurate triage to ensure limited resources are used to save the most lives.
  • Yellow-tagged patients are a high-risk group for deterioration. Nurses must perform frequent reassessments to monitor for changes in vital signs or mental status that could upgrade their category to Red.
  • What if? If a yellow-tagged patient with a closed femur fracture suddenly becomes hypotensive and tachycardic, their status has changed. They are now likely in shock (internal bleeding) and must be immediately upgraded to a Red (Immediate) tag for life-saving intervention.
How to Approach the Question
  • First, identify the core concept of the question, which is 'triage' and the meaning of the 'yellow colour'.
  • Recall the standard color-coding system used in mass casualty triage.
  • Mentally list the colors and their associated priority levels: Red (Immediate), Yellow (Delayed), Green (Minor), and Black (Expectant/Deceased).
  • Associate 'Yellow' with the 'Delayed' category, which includes patients with serious but not immediately life-threatening injuries.
  • Evaluate the given options: 'Immediate life threatening' is Red, 'Most critically injured' is Red. 'Less critically injured' fits the description for Yellow, as they are less critical than Red-tagged patients. 'Non life threatening' is too vague.
  • Select 'Less critically injured' as the best description for the Yellow triage category among the choices.
Concept Tested & Keywords
  • Concept Tested: Triage Color Coding System
  • Stem keywords: triage, yellow colour
  • Lead-in keywords: denotes
  • Negative lead-in flag: NOT changes the reasoning strategy; look for the exception or incorrect statement rather than the true statement.

Question ID

QjQIerJree0zp7DcDc1MNb

Reference Book

E6 Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics(2024) — Volume 1 p. 585-587

E6 Nursing Brunner Adult Health 3SA Vol 2 Part 3 p. 113-115

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