title: Pre-hospital and early in-hospital management of severe injuries: changes and trends.
abstract: The pre-hospital and early in-hospital management of most severely injured patients has dramatically changed over the last 20 years. In this context, the factor time has gained more and more attention, particularly in German-speaking countries. While the management in the early 1990s aimed at comprehensive and complete therapy at the accident site, the premise today is to stabilise trauma patients at the accident site and transfer them into the hospital rapidly. In addition, the introduction of training and education programmes such as Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS(®)), Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS(®)) concept or the TEAM(®) concept has increased the quality of treatment of most severely injured trauma patients both in the preclinical field and in the emergency trauma room. Today, all emergency surgical procedures in severely injured patients are generally performed in accordance with the Damage Control Orthopaedics (DCO) principle. The advancements described in this article provide examples for the improved quality of the management of severely injured patients in the preclinical field and during the initial in-hospital treatment phase. The implementation of trauma networks, the release of the S3 polytrauma guidelines, and the DGU "Weißbuch" have contributed to a more structured management of most severely injured patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma Surgery, University Hospital Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, D-45122 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Bjoern
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hussmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma Surgery, University Hospital Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, D-45122 Essen, Germany. Electronic address: sven.lendemans@uk-essen.de.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lendemans
mesh_terms: D061906:Advanced Trauma Life Support Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends*; D000465:Algorithms; D000552:Ambulances; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends*; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D013997:Time Factors; D014194:Traumatology / Q000193:education
keywords: In-hospital management; Pre-hospital management; Trauma; Trends