Triage and Emergency Medical Management of the Acute Radiation Syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: Medical personnel of the state Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will be the first element involved in providing assistance to victims of radiation incidents. Triage, initial diagnosis and further patient medical management will depend on their actions. In many radiation incidents, initial radiation triage and early diagnostics will be carried out in the emergency department (ED) or trauma center (TC). Extended triage, diagnosis of ARS and proper treatment will be continued in specialist centers. The aim: To present a model of patient medical management including initial triage and early diagnosis of ARS that can be carried out at the ED and TC. Material and methods: The initial medical procedures prepared by expert groups were presented. The choice of procedures was made in terms of the possibility of their application by the EMS teams in Poland. Particular attention was paid to the method of initial triage, based on the clinical condition and laboratory diagnostics. Results: Based on the material collected, the path of the initial medical procedure was presented. Variants of the radiation triage, interpretation of clinical parameters and results of laboratory tests are presented. The methods of initial treatment and the method of qualification for specialist treatment, and new methods of treating patients were also described. Conclusions: An adequate evaluation of radiation incidents, determining the absorbed dose of ionising radiation and ARS, as well as initial triage seem to be crucial skills of the EMS workers.