A-E Ax

Question 1

What does A stand for?

Answer 1

Airways

Question 2

What do you look for under A?

Answer 2

airways.
Is it patent? If not, is there a partial or complete obstruction?
What type of airway is it? Normal/tracheostomy/intubated?
What can you hear? Is it noisy?(stridor)
Are they coughing or choking?

Question 3

What does B stand for?

Answer 3

Breathing

Question 4

What do you look for under B?

Answer 4

Breathing.
Is there a change in colour? Cyanosis? (blue lips).
Is there a tracheal tug? (moved to one side).
Is the respiratory rate and pattern normal?
Is expansion equal on right and left?
Are they using accessory muscles?
Are they producing any sputum? Colour? Quantity? Consistency?
Are there any wheezes or crackles with auscultation?
What does the percussion note sound like?
Are they having a difficulty/inability to speak?
Is there a tactile fremitus? (feel chest secretions with hands on chest)
Is there abdominal distension? (air/fluid accumulated in abdomen causing expansion).
Is there a cough?
Check xray.

Question 5

What do you look for under C?

Answer 5

Circulation.
What is the skin colour like? Pale? Flushed?
Check fluid balance-urine colour and volume.
Check for limb oedma.
Check heart rhythm on ECG.
Check pulse( rate, quality and regularity).
Check capillary refill time (<2 seconds).
Check for pitting odema (an indent remains)

Question 6

What do you look for under D?

Answer 6

Disability.
Check their conscious status.
Check responsiveness using ACPVU (alert, confusion, pain responsiveness, voice responsiveness, unresponsive).
Check cognition (pupil size responsiveness and blood glucose level tested).

Question 7

What does C stand for?

Answer 7

Circulation

Question 8

What does D stand for?

Answer 8

Disability

Question 9

What does E stand for?

Answer 9

Exposure

Question 10

What do you look for under E?

Answer 10

Position, size, muscle waste, gadgets, wound dressing, signs of infection, mobility aids, chest drains(bubbling?), pain(VAS).