Abstract
BackgroundTrauma is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with about 5.8 million deaths globally and the leading cause of death in those aged 45 and younger. The pre-hospital phase of traumatic injury is particularly important as care received during this phase has effects on survival. The need for high quality clinical trials in this area has been recognised for several years as a key priority to improve the evidence base and, ultimately, clinical care in prehospital trauma. We aimed to systematically map the existing evidence base for pre-hospital trauma trials, to identify knowledge gaps and inform decisions about the future research agenda.MethodsA systematic mapping review was conducted first employing a search of key databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from inception to March 23rd 2020) to identify randomised controlled trials within the pre-hospital trauma and injury setting. The evidence ‘map’ identified and described the characteristics of included studies and compared these studies against existing priorities for research. Narrative description of studies informed by analysis of relevant data using descriptive statistics was completed.ResultsTwenty-three eligible studies, including 10,405 participants across 14 countries, were identified and included in the systematic map. No clear temporal or geographical trends in publications were identified. Studies were categorised into six broad categories based on intervention type with evaluations of fluid therapy and analgesia making up 60% of the included trials. Overall, studies were heterogenous with regard to individual interventions within categories and outcomes reported. There was poor reporting across several studies. No studies reported patient involvement in the design or conduct of the trials.ConclusionThis mapping review has highlighted that evidence from trials in prehospital trauma is sparse and where trials have been completed, the reporting is generally poor and study designs sub-optimal. There is a continued need, and significant scope, for improvement in a setting where high quality evidence has great potential to make a demonstrable impact on care and outcomes.
Highlights
Trauma is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with about 5.8 million deaths globally and the leading cause of death in those aged 45 and younger
Studies were excluded based on the following criteria: non-trauma pre-hospital trials, intervention not delivered in a pre-hospital setting, intervention does not target the index trauma injury, studies conducted in low-middle income countries, studies published before the year 2000, and studies where no full report was available in English
After removing duplicates, 4164 unique references were identified from January 2000 to March 2020
Summary
Trauma is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with about 5.8 million deaths globally and the leading cause of death in those aged 45 and younger. The need for high quality clinical trials in this area has been recognised for several years as a key priority to improve the evidence base and, clinical care in prehospital trauma. In the UK and the US major trauma is the leading cause of death in those under 45 years and a significant cause of short and long-term morbidity [3, 4]. Within a major trauma setting, the quality of care delivered to patients in a pre-hospital setting has a critical impact on their chances of survival and future quality of life [6, 7]. Despite the significant economic and health burdens associated with pre-hospital trauma there are still many unanswered questions about how to treat these patients effectively [8, 9]
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