JumpSTART triage for pediatric patients?

• A. Respirations, perfusion, and mental status
• B. Blood pressure measurements only
• C. Heart rate and capillary refill
• D. Temperature and weight

Answer: (A)

JumpSTART triage for pediatric patients relies on three quick checks to rapidly determine priority: respirations, perfusion, and mental status. After ensuring an open airway, you first assess whether the child is breathing and at an adequate rate. Next, you evaluate perfusion by checking how well blood is reaching the tissues, commonly through capillary refill or a peripheral pulse. Finally, you gauge mental status by seeing if the child can follow simple commands or respond to you. These observable cues let you categorize patients quickly as immediate, delayed, minor, or expectant, which is essential in mass-casualty situations. Blood pressure alone is not practical as a fast triage measure, and relying only on heart rate with capillary refill ignores the respiratory and mental-status checks. Temperature and weight do not indicate how urgently a child needs care.