Mass Casualty Imaging—Policy, Planning, and Radiology Response to Mass Casualty Incidents

Abstract

<jats:p> A mass casualty incident (MCI) is an event that generates more patients at one time than locally available resources can manage using routine procedures. By their nature, many of these incidents have no prior notice but result in large numbers of casualties with injuries that range in severity. They can happen anywhere and at any time and regional hospitals and health-care providers have to mount a response quickly and effectively to save as many lives as possible. Radiologists must go from passenger to pilot when it comes to MCI planning. When involved at the hospital-wide planning stage, they can offer valuable expertise on how radiology can improve triage accuracy and at what cost in terms of time and resources and thereby contribute a pragmatic understanding of radiology’s role and value during MCIs. By taking ownership of MCI planning in their own departments, radiologists can ensure that the radiology department can respond quickly and effectively to unforeseen emergencies. Well-designed radiology protocols will save lives in an MCI setting. </jats:p>

A Guide to Mass Casualty Incidents for Radiology Residents: Strategies, Ethics, Directions

“…The threshold of care shifts from the best possible care for a single patient to the minimum acceptable care for the maximum number of patients. 5 …”

“…The involvement of the lead radiologist in MCI alongside the lead emergency physician, trauma surgeon and anesthesiologist is critical. 5 …”

How to deliver an effective primary survey report for the trauma CT: A radiological and surgical perspective

“…Radiology departments therefore need to be involved in the planning of these events and to take ownership of their protocols in order to facilitate the efficient integration of Radiology into the patient pathway. 21 In such scenarios, a large proportion of normal procedures are necessarily abandoned creating a plethora of potential problems and additional risk. As an example, tasks as simple as patient identification must be made sufficiently robust to withstand the potential chaos of an MCI.…”