The major trauma patient

This chapter describes the anaesthetic management of the major trauma patient. It begins with immediate trauma care, the patient journey, primary survey and resuscitation. The management of head and traumatic brain injury, thoracic injury, abdominal and pelvic injuries, spinal injury, limb and extremity injury, blast injury and gunshot wounds and traumatic cardiac arrest are discussed. The specific management of burns, paediatric trauma and silver trauma are covered. Anaesthesia for major trauma, including damage control resuscitation and damage control surgery are discussed.

EP.TU.1068Developing a Major Trauma Nursing Education Framework in Manchester

Aims The opening of the Major Trauma Ward (MTW) at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust represents a key milestone for managing major adult trauma within the Greater Manchester conurbation. We present an overview of the development of a novel Major Trauma Nursing Education Framework incorporating both the induction and continuing professional development of trauma nurses. Methods The MTW nursing skillset combines elements from acute surgical specialities and rehabilitation medicine. A framework for education was constructed from the Adult Nursing Competencies for the Major Trauma Patient (National Major Trauma Nursing Group) and the Trauma Intermediate Life Support curriculum. An induction programme was developed with a Competencies Workbook for an interim period including external courses for band 5 (Nurse Trauma and Critical Care course) and senior nurses (ALS and Neonatal, Adult and Paediatric Safe Transfer and Retrieval Course). An annual training programme will renew these competencies. Results Feedback from the first cohort for the induction programme has been positive, particularly with the third of nurses who did not feel confident managing trauma patients prior to induction (Wilcoxin-signed rank test, p = 0.00116). Free text comments ranged from the completeness of the topics covered to the delivery methods of the curriculum and how to work effectively within the wider multidisciplinary team. Conclusions The development of a formal Major Trauma Nursing Education Framework is necessary for a modern trauma workforce. Feedback has so far been positive. Continual audit of the framework will be necessary to ensure and improve the quality of delivery of education.

Unexpected shock in a fallen older adult: a case report

Introduction: Falls are common in older adults and frequently require ambulance service assistance. They are the most frequent cause of injury and associated morbidity and mortality in older adults. In recent years, the typical major trauma patient has changed from being young and male to being older in age, with falls of < 2 metres being the most common mechanism of injury. We present a case of an 84-year-old male who had fallen in his home. This case highlights the complex nature of a relatively common incident.Case presentation: The patient was laid on the floor in the prone position unable to move for 12 hours. He did not complain of any pain in his neck, back, hips or legs, and wished to be lifted off the floor promptly. On examination, he had bruising to his chest and abdomen and had suffered a suspected cervical spine injury due to a step-like protrusion around C5‐C6. Distal sensory and motor function was intact. While in the ambulance his blood pressure dropped from 154/119 mmHg to 49/28 mmHg unexpectedly. We successfully reversed the shock using the modified Trendelenburg position and intravenous fluids. On follow-up he was diagnosed with dislocated C3, C6 and C7 vertebrae.Conclusion: The unexpected episode of shock witnessed in this patient may have been caused by a number of phenomena, including but not limited to crush syndrome, spinal cord concussion and orthostatic hypotension. We recommend that clinicians anticipate sudden shock in older adult patients who have fallen and a) have remained static on the floor for an extended period of time or b) are suspected of a spinal injury. We recommend assertive management of these patients to mitigate the impact of shock through postural positioning and consideration of early cannulation.

Emergent Comprehensive Imaging of the Major Trauma Patient: A New Paradigm for Improved Clinical Decision-Making

Modern advances in the medical imaging layered onto sophisticated trauma resuscitation strategies in highly organized regionalized trauma systems have created a paradigm shift in the management of severely injured patients. Although immediate exploratory surgery to identify and control life-threatening injuries still has its place, accelerated image acquisition and interpretation procedures now make it rare for trauma surgeons in major centers to venture into damage control surgery unaided by computed tomography (CT) or other imaging, particularly in cases of blunt trauma. Indeed, because of the high incidence of clinically occult injuries associated with major mechanism trauma, and even lower energy trauma in frail or elderly patients, CT imaging has become as invaluable as physical examination, if not more so, in critical decision-making in support of optimal outcomes. In particular, whole-body computed tomography (WBCT) completed promptly after initial assessment of a major trauma provides a quick, comprehensive survey of injuries that enables better surgical planning, obviates the need for multiple subsequent studies, and permits specialized reconstructions when needed. For those at risk for problematic occult injury after modest trauma, WBCT facilitates safer discharge planning and simplified follow-up. Through standardized guidelines, streamlined protocols, synoptic reporting, accessible web-based platforms, and active collaboration with clinicians, radiologists dedicated to trauma and emergency imaging enable clearer understanding of complex injuries in high-risk patients which leads to superior clinical decision-making. Whereas dated dogma has long warned that the CT scanner is the last place to take a challenging trauma patient, modern practice suggests that, more often than not, early comprehensive imaging can be done safely and efficiently and is in the patient’s best interest. This article outlines how the role of diagnostic imaging for major trauma has evolved considerably in recent years.

Is age associated with emergency medical service transport to a trauma centre in patients with major trauma? A systematic review

IntroductionOlder adults with major trauma are known to have higher mortality rates than their younger counterparts and there is a known survival benefit of treatment in trauma centres. This systematic review sought to answer the question: are older patients with major trauma more or less likely to be transported to a trauma centre by emergency medical services (EMS) than younger patients?MethodsThe following databases were searched: Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, EBSCO CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane Library and grey literature until 7 March 2019. Studies meeting each of the following criteria were included: 1) comparative study, including randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, case-control studies; 2) study participants must be patients with major trauma; 3) the patients must have been initially transported from the accident scene to hospital by EMS, and 4) the study must report the association between major trauma patient, age and trauma centre transport.ResultsWe identified 3365 unique citations and one study was identified through other sources. In total, 17 studies were included. The studies defined major trauma patients either by the meeting of pre-hospital trauma triage criteria or a retrospective diagnosis. All of the included studies reported that older age was associated with a reduced likelihood of EMS trauma centre transport when compared to younger age in major trauma patientsConclusionThe studies included in this review all showed that older age is associated with a reduced likelihood of EMS trauma centre transport when compared to younger age in major trauma patients.

Being Narrow Minded is Not Always Bad: Focusing on Emergent Interventions in Undertriage Initiatives Improves Mortality Prediction

The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma defines undertriage (UT) as any major trauma patient (injury severity score ≥ 16) not undergoing treatment at the highest level of trauma team activation. This methodology does not account for many important factors that may impact outcome. We performed a retrospective review of the Pennsylvania State Trauma Registry to determine the impact of treatment interventions on mortality. Patients were stratified by triage category as follows: UT, appropriate triage, and overtriage. Multiple prehospital (PH) and ED interventions were assessed. Increased mortality was observed in all triage groups in patients requiring intervention. A logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent effect of individual interventions on mortality for patients triaged to partial activation or consult. PH CPR (OR 66.13 [47.07–92.93]), ED CPR (OR 16.87 [8.82–32.27]), PH or ED intubation (OR 16.68 [13.90–20.03]), PH or ED packed red blood cell transfusion (OR 1.89 [1.54–2.33]), emergent operative intervention (OR 3.58 [3.07–4.19]), ED central venous access (OR 5.04 [2.31–10.97]) were all associated with worsening mortality. The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma methodology overestimates mortality risk when emergent interventions are not required and underestimates risk where such interventions are necessary. Future methodologies for assessing UT should include these interventions.

LO96: Syncope prognosis based on emergency department diagnosis: a prospective cohort study

Introduction: Relatively little is known about outcomes after disposition among syncope patients assigned various diagnostic categories during emergency department (ED) evaluation. We sought to measure the 30-day serious outcomes among 4 diagnostic groups (vasovagal, orthostatic hypotension, cardiac, other/unknown) within 30 days of the index ED visit. Methods: We prospectively enrolled adult syncope patients at six EDs and excluded patients with pre-syncope, persistent mental status changes, intoxication, seizure, and major trauma. Patient characteristics, ED management, diagnostic impression (vasovagal, orthostatic, cardiac, or other/unknown) at the end of the ED visit and physicians’ confidence in assigning the etiology were collected. Serious outcomes at 30-days included: death, arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, structural heart disease, pulmonary embolism, and hemorrhage. Results: 5,010 patients (mean age 53.4 years; 54.8% females) were enrolled; 3.5% suffered serious outcomes: deaths (0.3%), arrhythmias (1.8%), non-arrhythmic cardiac (0.5%) and non-cardiac (0.9%). The cause of syncope was determined as vasovagal among 53.3% and cardiac in 5.4% of patients. The proportion of patients with ED investigations (p&lt;0.001) and short-term serious outcomes increased (p&lt;0.01) increased in each diagnostic category in the following order: vasovagal, orthostatic hypotension, other/unknown cause and cardiac. No deaths occurred in patients with vasovagal syncope. A higher proportion of all serious outcomes occurred among patients suspected of cardiac syncope in the ED (p&lt;0.01). Confidence was highest among physicians for a vasovagal syncope diagnosis and lowest when the cause was other/unknown. Conclusion: Short-term serious outcomes strongly correlated with the etiology assigned in the ED visit. The physician’s clinical judgment should be incorporated in risk-stratification for prognostication and safe management of ED syncope patients.