When resources are limited, how should triage decisions be guided?

• A. Prioritize those with the highest likelihood of survival and those who can be saved with available resources
• B. Triage should never consider resource limits
• C. Treat the most severely injured first regardless of outcomes
• D. Treat only those who request care

Answer: (B)

When resources are limited, triage decisions should be anchored in a consistent, objective framework that focuses on medical need and the likelihood of benefit. The idea behind this approach is to apply the same criteria to all patients, ensuring fairness and defensible choices even as supply changes. Resource limitations are addressed through system-wide planning and logistics, not by shifting the basic triage criteria for who receives care now. This keeps the decision process based on clinical factors rather than ad hoc judgments about stock or availability.

Other options either rely on factors that override medical need (like treating the most severely injured first regardless of outcome) or depend on patient requests, which undermine the ethical, needs-based basis of triage.