Mass casualty incidents—are you ready? A major incident planning template for diagnostic radiology

Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) create a large number of casualties in a short period of time. Diagnostic radiology plays an important role in major incident responses but is often underrepresented during major incident planning (MIP) and simulation. Surveys suggest radiologists are unfamiliar with their role during an MCI. We aimed to identify key topics for radiology MIP, familiarize radiologists with their role during an MCI and identify areas for future research. The terms “radiology” and “mass casualty incident” were entered into the advanced search builder on PubMed. Abstracts from this primary search were reviewed and papers selected for inclusion. Additional studies of interest were identified upon review of reference sections of relevant articles and from the related article tab on PubMed. MCI and trauma guidelines were reviewed. Key factors that caused issues during prior MCIs were identified including staff alert mechanisms, patient identification strategies, patient tracking, scan ordering and result communication. Limitations of local imaging resources and capacity should be identified and inform plans for the utilization of diagnostic radiology in the MCI setting. Simulation can help identify areas for improvement and familiarize staff with their roles. Further development of reliable MCI alert technology and patient identification strategies are needed as well as prospective validation of trauma CT selection criteria to identify patients who will benefit most from CT. Radiology should take part in MIP to address key issues encountered during prior MCIs and in MCI simulation to optimize major incident response.