According to most emergency response guidelines, priority of patient treatment can be categorized into three approaches. These include very severe and life-threatening injuries, injuries that are severe but not life threatening, and those that are of non-immediate danger. First priority patients are usually those that have acquired life threatening injuries or illnesses, often including severe burns, bleeding, breathing impairment, and heart attacks. Due to this, it would be vital to attend to the patients experiencing myocardial infarctions first, as almost all types of arrhythmia besides the supra- ventricular can be lethal. The patient experiencing dizziness may be having more severe symptoms and should be treated first.
TIAs, or transient ischemic attacks, are usually characterized by symptoms of strokes but almost always result in no lasting brain damage. Individuals with frequent TIAs are often at risk of a stroke and the chances of not getting one only decrease after treatment at an emergency care unit. Oftentimes, patients are unable to recognize TIAs or oncoming signs of a stroke, which may be more severe. As such, the patient should be treated next due to the potential severity of an oncoming stroke.
Any patient displaying blood sugar levels below 70 mg/dL are in immediate danger as they begin to experience sleepiness and decreased alertness. As such, the patient that is experiencing fluctuations between 218 down to 50 mg/dL in their blood sugar levels may not begin to experience sleepiness and therefore it is possible that they are not in immediate danger and can be treated next. However, if the patient with fluctuating blood sugar levels experiences consistent low levels of below 70 mg/dL, they may need to be prioritized above the patient experiencing TIAs, as the stroke may not be as severe.