What is the primary goal of mass casualty triage in the field?

• A. Evacuate all casualties as quickly as possible regardless of benefit.
• B. Rapidly identify those who can benefit from immediate care and evacuation; maximize lives saved; re-evaluate as conditions change.
• C. Document casualties for after-action review.
• D. Prioritize only those who are likely to survive with minimal intervention.

Answer: (B)

Mass casualty triage in the field focuses on maximizing the number of lives saved when resources are limited. The best approach is to quickly identify those who can benefit from immediate care and evacuation and then re-evaluate as conditions change. This dynamic prioritization ensures that the most lives are saved given the available resources, rather than trying to treat everyone or only those who require minimal intervention.

Why the other ideas don’t fit: evacuating everyone regardless of benefit isn’t practical or effective with scarce resources, and triage isn’t about just documenting casualties after the fact. Limiting focus to those who will survive with minimal intervention ignores people who could be saved with timely, albeit more intensive, care and evacuation.