Original contributionsClinical impact of advanced trauma life support☆
Section snippets
Materials and methods
We performed a prospective, sequential, cohort study, including a pre-, and a post-ATLS training period. Patients were entered in the study in two community residency training (ACS level III) hospitals. Both EDs have an annual patient census of 20,000 and treat approximately 25 severely traumatized victims per year. The patients in the study were treated by residents and general surgeons but not by residency trained EM physicians or trauma surgeons.
Prospective registration of all data were
Results
In the pre-ATLS period from June 1996 to November 1997, 31 patients were included in the study and in the post-ATLS period from January 1998 through July 1999, 32 patients entered.
We found no statistically significant differences in the patient characteristics between the two groups (Table 1). There was no significant difference in the etiologies of cases (Table 2). There was a significant difference in mortality between groups in the first 60 minutes after arrival (P = .002, Fisher exact
Discussion
The ATLS course emphasizes the primary management of the injured patient, starting at the time of injury and continuing through the initial assessment, life-saving interventions, reevaluation, stabilization and, when needed, transfer to a trauma center. This course is intended for all physicians who could be involved in acute trauma care. The question addressed in this study is whether ATLS training affects the fate of the trauma patient.
Introduction of the ATLS course in The Netherlands
Conclusion
Our data demonstrate that introduction of the ATLS program 1-hour outcomes significantly improved, but overall outcomes are not. According to the TRISS methodology ATLS improved outcome from a sub-MTOS standard results to MTOS standard result (z −2.09 vs. z −0.49)7.
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Cited by (0)
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This study was supported by the ATLS Foundation Netherlands, the Dutch Trauma Society, and the Department of Surgery University Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands.