What does the ABCDE primary survey assess?

• A. Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure
• B. Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Dehydration
• C. Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure
• D. Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disturbance, Exposure

Answer: (C)

The ABCDE primary survey is a rapid, life-saving sequence used to identify and treat threats to life in a trauma patient. It prioritizes what can kill first: Airway opening and protection, Breathing adequacy, and Circulation with control of bleeding. After stabilizing those, it assesses Disability, which checks the patient’s neurological status and level of consciousness, often using a quick scale like AVPU or the Glasgow Coma Scale. The final step, Exposure, involves fully exposing the patient to detect hidden injuries while preventing hypothermia.

This order matters because you can’t safely treat breathing or circulation if the airway is compromised, and neurological status guides decisions about responsiveness and need for further imaging or interventions. The other options swap or insert terms that aren’t part of the standard primary survey—Dehydration isn’t a primary survey focus, and Disturbance isn’t the typical label for the neurological assessment in this context.