Pediatric Trauma Updated

Abstract

Pediatric trauma is a serious problem. Accidents are responsible for more than half of all deaths among children. Hall et al [1] revealed that the outcome for children with blunt trauma is consistently better at a pediatric trauma center. Unfortunately, these centers are not great in number and are unevenly distributed. Most infants, children, and young adults, who respond to trauma physiologically like children, will be treated in emergency rooms and trauma centers geared primarily for adults [2]. The manuscript makes a bold attempt to identify and update factors that will assist in the management of the injured “pediatric” patient. In 1974, Morse [3] became aware of the injured child presenting in the adult emergency room and wrote an article titled “Step to Step With an Injured Child.” He stated that if an injured child reaches a suitable emergency facility alive, his or her greatest risk of preventable death is due to errors in managing ventilation and circulation and the failure to detect hidden injuries, most of which are in the abdomen. The emergency care of the injured child calls for a systematic approach that has been mentally rehearsed until it becomes automatic. Since Morse’s original article, many authors have