Emergency situations in the Kenntnisprüfung

In which order do you assess an emergency patient using the ABCDE scheme?

• Consciousness → airway → breathing → circulation → whole-body examination
• Airway → breathing → circulation → consciousness/neurology → whole-body look
• Breathing → airway → circulation → consciousness/neurology → whole-body look
• Circulation → airway → breathing → consciousness/neurology → whole-body look

Explanation: A – Airway, B – Breathing, C – Circulation, D – Disability, E – Exposure. The order is the programme: “Treat first what kills first” — you only move on once the current problem has been dealt with. A blocked airway kills faster than any circulatory disorder.

What must always be part of point D (Disability) in the ABCDE scheme?

• Measuring blood glucose — alongside level of consciousness and checking the pupils
• Inspecting the whole body for wounds, bleeding and skin changes
• Auscultating the lungs and measuring oxygen saturation
• Measuring temperature — alongside level of consciousness and checking the pupils

Explanation: D checks consciousness (alert — responds to voice — responds to pain — no response), the pupils and always blood glucose: hypoglycaemia is the “stroke mimic” that can be corrected fastest. The whole-body look is E; the lungs belong to B.