Identification and Initial Stabilization of Acutely Deteriorated Patients

The first minutes of contact with a critically ill patient are most important to their overall treatment course and outcome. Classically, with well-appearing patients, we would perform a history of the patient’s illness, examine the patient, and develop an assessment and plan for a particular patient. However, with severe illness and disability, sometimes adaptation is required to assess and treat the patient quickly. In this chapter, we will cover one of the most common algorithms in the triage and evaluation of critical patients—the ABCDEF approach. By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: