Which tag color indicates the category of patients who are not expected to survive if not treated urgently?

Which tag color indicates the category of patients who are not expected to survive if not treated urgently?

• A. Yellow tag
• B. Green tag
• C. Red tag
• D. Black tag

Answer: (D)

In disaster triage, color-coded tags quickly signal who should be treated first when resources are limited. The color for patients not expected to survive without urgent, extraordinary intervention is black. This tag marks an “expectant” status—injuries so severe that survival is unlikely even with immediate care, so clinicians focus their limited resources on those with a better chance of recovery. By contrast, red tags indicate immediate life-saving needs, yellow tags are conditions that require attention soon but can wait briefly, and green tags are minor injuries that aren’t dependently life-threatening.

In disaster triage, color-coded tags quickly signal who should be treated first when resources are limited. The color for patients not expected to survive without urgent, extraordinary intervention is black. This tag marks an “expectant” status—injuries so severe that survival is unlikely even with immediate care, so clinicians focus their limited resources on those with a better chance of recovery. By contrast, red tags indicate immediate life-saving needs, yellow tags are conditions that require attention soon but can wait briefly, and green tags are minor injuries that aren’t dependently life-threatening.