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Orthopaedic triage during natural disasters and mass casualties: do scoring systems matter?

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Abstract

Mass casualty events, either natural disasters or man-made, are associated with extremities injuries. The treating surgeon often faces a challenging decision: can the affected extremity be saved or amputated? The following article will present the author’s view on the subject of triage and the use of scoring systems in the decision-making process whether to salvage or amputate an affected extremity. The author will analyse the existing scoring systems and emphasise significance of the regional factors: geographical, cultural and level of health care, as factors playing roles in this process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. California Pacific Medical Center, 45 Castro Street, Suite 337, San Francisco, CA, 94114, USA

    Nikolaj Wolfson

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  1. Nikolaj Wolfson
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Correspondence to Nikolaj Wolfson.

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Wolfson, N. Orthopaedic triage during natural disasters and mass casualties: do scoring systems matter?. International Orthopaedics (SICOT) 37, 1439–1441 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-013-1997-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-013-1997-z

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