EMT Mnemonics

ABC

  • ABC is used for patient primary assessment. Note; if a patient is bleeding profusely, assessment should be CAB.

    • A: Airway. Is the patient’s airway clear?

    • B: Breathing. Is the patient breathing adequately?

    • C: Circulation. Does the patient have a pulse/ are they bleeding?

SAMPLE

  • SAMPLE is used for taking a patient’s medical history.

    • S: Signs and symptoms. What is the patient experiencing and what do you observe?

    • A: Allergies. Does the patient have any allergies?

    • M: Medications. Is the patient taking any medications?

    • P: Past medical history. Does the patient have any relevant medical conditions?

    • L: Last seen normal/ last oral intake: When was the last time the patient was acting normal? What was the last thing the patient ate or drank?

    • E: Events leading up to. What happened before the incident?

OPQRST

  • OPQRST is used for patient pain assessment.

    • O: Onset. When did the pain start?

    • P: Provocation. Does anything make the pain better or worse?

    • Q: Quality. Can the patient describe the pain?

    • R: Radiation. Does the pain spread/ radiate anywhere else?

    • S: Severity. Can the patient rate their pain on a scale of 1-10?

    • T: Time. Is the pain constant or does it come and go?

AVPU

  • AVPU is used to assess patient alertness.

    • A: Alert. When you walk in the room, the patient is able to acknowledge you.

    • V: Verbal. The patient only responds to verbal stimuli. When you walk into the room, they do not acknowledge you, but when you talk, they acknowledge you.

    • P: Pain. The patient only responds to painful stimuli. The patient does not acknowledge you when you walk into the room or talk to them. Only when you pinch them, they respond (usually with a groan).

    • U: Unresponsive. The patient does not respond to any stimuli.

DCAP-BTLS

  • DCAP-BTLS is used for patient trauma assessment.

    • D: Deformity. Does the patient have any abnormal deformities?

    • C: Contusion. Does the patient have any bruising?

    • A: Abrasion. Is the patient scraped?

    • P: Puncture/ penetration. Does the patient have any puncture wounds?

    • B: Burns. Is the patient burned?

    • T: Tenderness. Does the patient have any tenderness?

    • L: Laceration. Does the patient have any lacerations?

    • S: Swelling. Does the patient have any swelling?

AEIOU-TIPS

  • AEIOU-TIPS is used to assess the reasons that a patient may have altered mental status. There are multiple reasons per letter.

    • A: alcohol; acidosis; arrhythmias

    • E: endocrine; epilepsy; electrolytes

    • I: infection

    • O: overdose; oxygen deficiency; opiates

    • U: uremia

    • T: trauma; temperature

    • I: insulin

    • P: psychiatric event; poisoning

    • S: stroke; seizure; syncope; space occupying lesions; shunt; shock; sepsis

PERRL

  • PERRL is a part of the trauma assessment that tests a patients brain function.

    • P: Pupils

    • E: Equal

    • R: Round (and)

    • R: Reactive (to)

    • L: Light

APGAR

  • APGAR is used to assess a newborn’s condition.

    • A: Appearance. What color is the infant’s skin?

    • P: Pulse. What is the infant’s heart rate?

    • G: Grimace. Check the infant’s reflexes.

    • A: Activity. Check the infant’s muscle tone and activity.

    • R: Respirations. How is the infant’s breathing effort?