A Roadmap for Early Management of Trauma Patients

Abstract

Trauma is primarily a health hazard of the young and results in loss of precious productive years. It is the leading cause of death in young adults. Most of the health care workers are faced with management of these patients on a regular basis. The concept of ‘Platinum 10 minutes’ or an extended Platinum time of 20 minutes should be strictly adhered to optimize survival. The team of well trained first responders at the accident team should ensure that the patient receives resuscitative care during the early phase of trauma management To enhance trauma care, management has been revolutionized over the past few decades by adopting evidence based recommendations that has led to improved outcome following trauma. The main issues in the acute phase of trauma management includes securing the airway and providing optimal ventilation, fluid and blood product management, control of body temperature and intracranial pressure. A well structured trauma resuscitation approach in a step-wise manner is essential to address all issues that contribute to reduction in mortality and functional disability. An optimal pre-hospital care at the site of the trauma with efficient transfer of the patients to designated trauma centres and maintaining continuity of care has been outlined in this article without daunting the reader with intricacies of trauma care.