title: A primer on triage and mass casualty events.
abstract: Traditional triage of patients is based on giving care to the most critically ill persons first. In a disaster situation or mass casualty event, the type of triage used would change from caring for the most ill first to caring for those most likely to survive first. This change is related to the scarcity of healthcare personnel and resources in a situation where thousands of persons would be ill or injured. Mass casualty collection points would be the site of triage to prevent hospitals from being overrun by patients.
mesh_terms: D003422:Critical Care; D004189:Disaster Planning; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D014218:Triage / Q000379:methods*