Neurotrauma Care, “Golden Hour” or “Golden Sixty Minutes”

Abstract

The golden hour is the time following an injury during which appropriate medical attention carries the highest likelihood of a better outcome. The concept of a golden hour was probably derived from the French Military’s World war I data for the care of trauma victims, but it is suitable for all types of acute emergencies. During these golden sixty minutes, the health care providers must focus on eliminating or mitigating the effect of critical events. If not timely addressed, these essential steps carry a maximum threat to the victim’s life by causing irreversible damage to vital organs. The major challenge in applying intervention during the golden hour is correctly identifying the correctable step in the victim at the earliest. Training individuals about basic life support is the first challenge to delivering care at the scene of an accident/ or event or during transport. The advances in the diagnostic modality and the faster means of transportation have been a major driving force in decreasing mortality during the early hours following the incident. In the present review, we attempt to draw attention to the importance of golden hour and emphasize that team-building and quality improvement are crucial to providing better outcomes.