Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) courses teach a system for the initial assessment and management of trauma patients that aims to optimise initial care and reduce mortality and morbidity, and have been adopted worldwide. This questionnaire survey characterised those who took up this particular educational resource in Scotland during a four year period after its introduction, and analysed how...

BACKGROUND The management of trauma patients is often difficult. The American college of surgeons suggests using advanced trauma life support (ATLS) measures. ATLS is regarded as the gold standard for the resuscitation of cases with acute life threatening injuries. OBJECTIVES To assess the change in base excess (BE) values and central venous pressure (CVP) one and six hours after injection of...

High-quality resuscitation and care during transfer of head-injured patients is essential to prevent secondary brain injury. We have prospectively assessed the standard of resuscitation in 50 consecutive head-injured patients transferred to our unit, and compared our findings with previous studies performed before the advanced trauma life support course (ATLS) had become widespread and national...

BACKGROUND Invasive practical procedures require identification of surface anatomical landmarks to reduce risk of damage to other structures. Needle thoracocentesis has specific complications, which have been previously documented. An observational study was performed among emergency physicians to name the landmark for needle thoracocentesis and identify this point on a human volunteer as per A...

INTRODUCTION The recognition and management of hypovolemic shock still remain an important task during initial trauma assessment. Recently, we have questioned the validity of the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) classification of hypovolemic shock by demonstrating that the suggested combination of heart rate, systolic blood pressure and Glasgow Coma Scale displays substantial deficits in ref...

BACKGROUND A previous study has shown no measurable improvement in triage accuracy among physicians attending the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course and suggests a curriculum revision regarding triage. Other studies have indicated that cooperative learning helps students acquire knowledge. OBJECTIVE The present study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of trauma cards in triage...

The initial management of the polytrauma patient follows the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) practice of airway and cervical spine control, breathing and circulation. Assessment of injuries takes place initially in the form of a primary survey, during which time life-threatening injuries are excluded. This is followed by a secondary survey when a more detailed assessment of injuries is carr...