Portable ultrasonography in mass casualty incidents: The CAVEAT examination

Table 3 The chest, abdomen, vena cava, and extremities for acute triage protocol summary

Description	Identification of immediately and potentially life-threatening injuries (FAST + pneumothorax)	Intravascular status evaluation (IVCCI)	Hemothorax assessment	Extremity assessment (lower → upper extremity sonography)
Skill level	Easy	Intermediate		Difficult
Urgency	Primary triage & assessment (Mandatory)		Secondary triage & assessment (Optional)

The protocol is divided into two-tiered system of urgency (primary and secondary) and three skill levels (basic, intermediate, and advanced). Note that the chest, abdomen, vena cava, and extremities for acute triage examination can be performed after the primary survey, with the serial assessment performed, as indicated at a later time. FAST: Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma; IVCCI: Inferior vena cava collapsibility index.