ALS algorithm

- A new patient

You are working on the surgical ward and your patient Theresa Brown, a 75-year-old woman, has just had a partial gastrectomy for a large bleeding gastric ulcer. The surgery was two hours ago and you are completing standard observations.
Mrs Brown – a 75-year-old woman in a hospital bed.

You notice that Mrs Brown’s abdomen is grossly distended.

You follow the ABCDE (Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure) approach and note the following:

  • A : Clear
  • B : RR 30 min-1, SpO2 unrecordable on 4 l min[sup]-1[/sup] oxygen via a Hudson mask
  • C : P 140 min[sup]-1[/sup] sinus tachycardia – femoral pulses just palpable, BP 60/40 mmHg
  • D : GCS 12 (E3, V4, M5), pupils equal and reactive to light
  • E : Very pale

Select Next to continue.

References

See chapter 12 of the ALS manual for further reading about Special Circumstances.

Essentials: The ABCDE Approach

The ABCDE Approach
The ABCDE approach: Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability and Exposure.

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