The challenges and advances of polytrauma care in 2012 (Editorial)

Trauma centers are designated to provide systematized multidisciplinary care to injured patients. Effective trauma systems reduce patient mortality by facilitating the treatment of injured patients at appropriately resourced hospitals. Several U.S. studies report reduced mortality among patients admitted directly to a level I trauma center compared with those admitted to hospitals with less resources. It has yet to be shown whether there is an outcome benefit associated with the “level of hospital” initially treating severely injured trauma patients in Australia. This study was designed to determine whether the level of trauma center providing treatment impacts mortality and/or hospital length of stay. Z. J. Balogh and H.-C. Pape. European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery. [Epub ahead of print] Dec 2011 PDF