General Impression and Mental Status
Form a general impression from the patient's appearance, age, sex, and position. Assess mental status using AVPU (alert, verbal, painful, unresponsive). Determine the chief complaint if the patient can communicate.
Airway, Breathing, Circulation
Open and maintain the airway, assess breathing rate and quality, and check the pulse and skin. Control major bleeding immediately. In trauma, follow the xABCDE approach, starting with exsanguinating hemorrhage.
Priority Decisions
At the end of the primary survey, decide whether the patient is a high priority for immediate transport. Poor general impression, unresponsiveness, difficulty breathing, shock, severe pain, or uncontrolled bleeding are all red flags. Do not delay transport with detailed assessments for critical patients.