Which triage method is commonly used in mass casualty incidents to quickly categorize patients based on likelihood of survival and need for treatment?

• A. SALT (Sort, Assess, Lifesaving Interventions, Treatment).
• B. Triage by arrival time.
• C. START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment).
• D. MASS (Massive Accident Severity Scoring System).

Answer: (C)

In mass casualty situations, the goal is to rapidly decide who can benefit from immediate life-saving care and who can wait. START is designed for quick field triage using a few simple physiological checks that reflect survival potential and need for treatment. The method starts by opening the airway and checking if the person is breathing; if they aren’t breathing and don’t resume after airway opening, they’re categorized for non-urgent intervention or, in some schemes, considered not to benefit from immediate care. If they are breathing, you assess the rate: very fast breathing signals serious compromise and immediate attention is needed. If the rate is not excessive, you then evaluate perfusion by checking for a distal pulse or capillary refill; poor perfusion or absent distal pulses indicate immediate priority. If perfusion is adequate, you test mental status by asking the person to follow a simple command; inability to follow commands suggests they require immediate care. Those who can follow commands with good perfusion and normal breathing are categorized as delayed or minor. This approach yields quick, actionable triage decisions that prioritize those most likely to survive with prompt treatment. Other systems like SALT or MASS exist, and triage by arrival time isn’t a standardized rapid-field method, but START remains the commonly taught and widely used approach for MCIs.