Pandemic strikes--who receives no treatment?
A task force formed by the American College of Chest Physicians has listed certain patients who should receive no treatment during a disaster. However, some ED experts believe such decisions should be made on an individual basis. Here are some of their suggestions for triage decisions during a disaster: Avoid general categories of patients, such as the elderly, listed by the task force and instead consider the physical condition of the patient. Be prepared to adapt your triage response, based on the type of disaster that has occurred. Use a sliding scale for your triage decisions, based on the seriousness of the event.
D004190:Disasters; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D016079:Refusal to Treat / Q000941:ethics*; D014218:Triage / Q000941:ethics