Abstract
BackgroundTo ensure the rapid and correct triage of patients in potential need of specialized treatment, Norwegian hospitals are expected to establish trauma teams with predefined criteria for their activation. The objective of this study was to map and describe the criteria currently in use.MethodsWe undertook a cross-sectional survey in the summer of 2008, using structured telephone interviews to all Norwegian hospitals that might admit severely injured patients.ResultsForty-nine hospitals were included, of which 48 (98%) had a trauma team and 20 had a hospital-based trauma registry. Criteria for trauma team activation were found at 46 (94%) hospitals. No single criterion was common to all hospitals. The median number of criteria per hospital was 23 (range 8-40), with a total number of 156 and wide variation with respect to physiological "cut-off" values. The mechanism of injury was commonly in use despite a well-known, large over-triage rate.ConclusionsIn recent years, Norwegian hospitals have gradually established trauma teams and criteria for their activation. These criteria show considerable variation, including physiological "cut-off" values.
Highlights
To ensure the rapid and correct triage of patients in potential need of specialized treatment, Norwegian hospitals are expected to establish trauma teams with predefined criteria for their activation
Forty-nine hospitals were included in this study
A trauma registry was reported to be in operation at 20 hospitals
Summary
To ensure the rapid and correct triage of patients in potential need of specialized treatment, Norwegian hospitals are expected to establish trauma teams with predefined criteria for their activation. The first civilian trauma centers in the US (established in San Francisco and Chicago in 1966) and the landmark paper "Optimal hospital resources for care of the seriously injured," published in 1976 by the American College of Surgeons Committee on trauma (ACS-COT), marked a new era of structured trauma care [3,4]. Subsequent revisions of the paper by ACS-COT have followed as new knowledge evolves through systematic research, practical lessons learned, and technological developments [5,6,7,8,9,10].
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