Treatment priority was assessed with the Emergency Severity Index (ESI), a valid and reliable 5-level triage tool, ranging from 'level 1' immediate lifesaving intervention needed, 'level 2' patient needs to be seen as soon as possible, 'level 3' more than one resource needed, 'level 4' one resource needed, to 'level 5' no resources needed [ 14].
Ice packs are also available in pharmacies but it is important to have an ice pack in the house to give an immediate intervention when the need arises.
Harriet A. Washington, a medical ethicist and the author of "Medical Apartheid," a prize-winning history of experimentation on African-Americans, told me, "Often, when people give a rationale for this kind of research they talk about the fact that these people are urgently ill, need immediate intervention, and that better solutions are needed".
For example, a gasping or cyanotic patient needs immediate intervention prior to completion of the physical examination, which may consist of simply giving oxygen or establishing an airway to relieve obstruction.
It is also important for the patient to report to the doctor in case of increased bleeding, as this indicates that there may be a complication that needs immediate intervention.
