Event

Differences in Injury Pattern of Major Road Trauma Patients Transported to a Trauma Centre or Other Emergency Care Facility
Speaker: Helen Fagerlind, Division of Vehicle Safety at Chalmers and Injury Prevention Group at Neuroscience Research Australia

Abstract
Helen Fagerlind will present the study “Differences in Injury Pattern of Major Road Trauma Patients Transported to a Trauma Centre or Other Emergency Care Facility”. Improved post-crash response and emergency care is critical to achieving reductions in the burden of road traffic injuries. Post-crash response is one of the pillars in the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020. It is important that each individual trauma patient is given the optimal prehospital care and are transported and treated at an emergency facility whose capabilities match the patient’s needs. Major trauma is defined as a life-threating injury or potential contributor to a life-long disability. Prehospital undertriage occurs when the required level of care for a severely injured patient is underestimated and the patient is transported to a lower-level trauma centre or other emergency care facility. In a previous study from Sweden it was found that 62% of major trauma attributable to road crashes were not directly transported to a trauma centre. The present study aims to examine whether the injury pattern of major road trauma patients are associated with trauma centre transportation decisions in Sweden, controlling for the distance from the crash to the nearest trauma centre and other patient characteristics.

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NB: Special invitation to SAFER members only!