Anaesthesia | Trauma | The secondary survey

The Secondary Survey
Session Overview
Description
This session describes the secondary survey of a patient with multiple injuries.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Define a secondary survey
• Explain the importance of a full history from the patient, collateral history and data from the scene of the incident
• State the importance of a thorough, fluent and selective physical examination as part of the secondary survey
• Describe how to conduct a secondary survey
• List the specific patterns of injury that are associated with different modes of injury

Prerequisites
Before commencing this session you should complete:

• The Primary Survey (001-0356)

The secondary survey is the examination of the patient that takes place after the primary survey.

Both surveys can occur in a place of safety or at the scene of the accident or incident.

The two surveys are different in chronology and aim. The primary survey deals with the immediate clinical circumstances.

The secondary survey seeks to capture injuries overlooked in the primary survey and initial resuscitation. It combines history and head-to-toe examination to detect subtle injuries that may lead to a delayed deterioration.