START triage, four color-coded categories and what they signify.

• A. Immediate (red) for non-life-threatening injuries; Delayed (yellow) for life-threatening injuries; Minor (green) for walking wounded; Expectant (black) for those needing no intervention.
• B. Immediate (red) for walking wounded; Delayed (yellow) for critically injured; Minor (green) for those unlikely to survive; Expectant (black) for life-threatening injuries.
• C. Immediate (red) for life-threatening injuries needing rapid intervention; Delayed (yellow) for injuries not requiring immediate care; Minor (green) for walking wounded; Expectant (black) for those unlikely to survive.
• D. Immediate (red) for patients with minor injuries; Delayed (yellow) for compliant patients; Minor (green) for major trauma; Expectant (black) for stable patients.

Answer: (D)

In START triage, the goal is to rapidly identify who needs life-saving care first and who can wait, using four color codes. Red denotes immediate need for rapid intervention because the injuries are life-threatening and delaying treatment could result in death. Yellow means delayed care; these patients have serious injuries but can wait a short time without immediate risk to life. Green covers minor injuries—walking wounded who can remain where they are or move with minimal assistance. Black is for those who are deceased or whose injuries are such that survival is unlikely given the available resources; they are not prioritized for urgent treatment. The mapping described in that option would misprioritize patients, assigning red to minor injuries and green to major trauma, which conflicts with START’s purpose and how it directs limited resources to save the most lives.