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Despite major improvements in the United States trauma system over the past two decades, prehospital trauma triage is a significant challenge. Undertriage is associated with increased mortality, and overtriage results in significant resource overuse. The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma benchmarks for undertriage and overtriage are not being met. Many barriers to appropriate field triage exist, including lack of a formal definition for major trauma, absence of a simple and widely applicable triage mode, and emergency medical service adherence to triage protocols. Modern trauma triage systems should ideally be based on the need for intervention rather than injury severity. Future studies should focus on identifying the ideal definition for major trauma and creating triage models that can be easily deployed. This narrative review article presents challenges and potential solutions for prehospital trauma triage.

Objective:Prehospital time affects survival in trauma patients. Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) are overwhelming events where medical care exceeds available resources. This study aimed at evaluating the prehospital time during MCIs and investigating the effect of triage.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed using Florida’s Event Medical Services Tracking and Reporting System database. All patients involved in MCIs during 2018 were accessed, and prehospital time intervals were evaluated and compared to that of non-MCIs. The effect of MCI triage and field triage (Field Triage Criteria) on prehospital time was evaluated.Results:In 2018, it was estimated that 2236 unique MCIs occurred in Florida, with a crude incidence of 10.1-10.9/100000 people. 2180 EMS units arrived at the hospital for patient disposition with a median alarm-to-hospital time of 43.74 minutes, significantly longer than non-MCIs (39.15 min; P < 0.001). MCI triage and field triage were both associated with shorter alarm-to-hospital time (39.37 min and 37.55 min, respectively).Conclusions:MCIs resulted in longer prehospital time intervals than non-MCIs. This finding suggests that additional efforts are needed to reduce the prehospital time for MCI patients. MCI triage and field triage were both associated with shorter alarm-to-hospital times. Widespread use may improve prehospital MCI care.

Introduction To improve the quality of criteria for trauma-team-activation it is necessary to identify patients who benefited from the treatment by a trauma team. Therefore, we evaluated a post hoc criteria catalogue for trauma-team-activation which was developed in a consensus process by an expert group and published recently. The objective was to examine whether the catalogue can identify patients that died after admission to the hospital and therefore can benefit from a specialized trauma team mostly. Materials and methods The catalogue was applied to the data of 75,613 patients from the TraumaRegister DGU® between the 01/2007 and 12/2016 with a maximum abbreviated injury score (AIS) severity ≥ 2. The endpoint was hospital mortality, which was defined as death before discharge from acute care. Results The TraumaRegister DGU® dataset contains 18 of the 20 proposed criteria within the catalogue which identified 99.6% of the patients who were admitted to the trauma room following an accident and who died during their hospital stay. Moreover, our analysis showed that at least one criterion was fulfilled in 59,785 cases (79.1%). The average ISS in this group was 21.2 points (SD 9.9). None of the examined criteria applied to 15,828 cases (average ISS 8.6; SD 5). The number of consensus-based criteria correlated with the severity of injury and mortality. Of all deceased patients (8,451), only 31 (0.37%) could not be identified on the basis of the 18 examined criteria. Where only one criterion was fulfilled, mortality was 1.7%; with 2 or more criteria, mortality was at least 4.6%. Discussion The consensus-based criteria identified nearly all patients who died as a result of their injuries. If only one criterion was fulfilled, mortality was relatively low. However, it increased to almost 5% if two criteria were fulfilled. Further studies are necessary to analyse and examine the relative weighting of the various criteria. Summary Our instrument is capable to identify severely injured patients with increased in-hospital mortality and injury severity. However, a minimum of two criteria needs to be fulfilled. Based on these findings, we conclude that the criteria list is useful for post hoc analysis of the quality of field triage in patients with severe injury.

Objective:The aim of this study was to explore the application of the flipped classroom approach in the training of Mass Casualty Triage (MCT) to medical undergraduate students.Methods:In this study, 103 fourth-year medical students were randomly divided into a Flipped Classroom (FC) group (n = 51) and a Traditional Lecture-based Classroom (TLC) group (n = 52). A post-class quiz, simulated field triage (SFT) and feedback questionnaires were performed to assess both groups of students for their learning of the course.Results:In the post-quiz, the median (IQR) scores achieved by students from the FC and TLC groups were 42(5) and 39(5.5), respectively. Significant differences were found between the two groups. In the SFT, overall triage accuracy was 67.06% for FC, and 64.23% for TLC students. Over-triage and under-triage errors occurred in 18.43% and 14.50% of the FC group, respectively. The TLC group had a similar pattern of 20.77% over-triage and 15.0% under-triage errors. No significant differences were found regarding overall triage accuracy or triage errors between the two groups.Conclusions:The FC approach could enhance course grades reflected in the post-quiz and improve students’ satisfaction with the class. However, there was no significant difference of competency between the two groups demonstrated in the SFT exercise.

Objective Identify physical findings in children with abdominal trauma to inform prehospital providers regarding appropriate hospital destinations. Methods This is a secondary analysis of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Abdominal Trauma Public Use Dataset. Children involved in motor vehicle collisions; struck by motor vehicles at >20 mph; involved in all-terrain vehicle, motorcycle, or scooter accidents; or who fell from >10 ft ( n = 5575) were included. Stepwise multivariable multinomial logistic regression was used to compare clinical findings at presentation between children with no intra-abdominal injury, intra-abdominal injury without intervention, and intra-abdominal injury with intervention (laparoscopy/laparotomy, embolization, red blood cell transfusion, or admission >48 h on intravenous fluids). Results Compared to children with no intra-abdominal injury, children with intra-abdominal injury (with and without intervention) were more likely to have evidence of abdominal wall trauma, abdominal tenderness, peritoneal irritation, decreased breath sounds, distracting painful injury, and evidence of thoracic trauma. Children with intra-abdominal injury requiring intervention were more likely to have evidence of abdominal wall trauma (OR 3.32, 95% CI 2.03–5.44) and be intubated (OR 4.93, 95% CI 3.17–7.65) when compared to children with intra-abdominal injury without intervention. Conclusions The findings of abdominal tenderness, peritoneal irritation, decreased breath sounds, distracting painful injury, and thoracic trauma may be used to identify children who warrant evaluation at any trauma center because of increased risk of intra-abdominal injury, whereas intubation and evidence of abdominal wall trauma help identify children with intra-abdominal injury in need of transport to a pediatric trauma center due to risk of undergoing intervention.

Purpose Trauma team activation (TTA) is thought to be essential for advanced and specialized care of very severely injured patients. However, non-specific TTA criteria may result in overtriage that consumes valuable resources or endanger patients in need of TTA secondary to undertriage. Consequently, criterion standard definitions to calculate the accuracy of the various TTA protocols are required for research and quality assurance purposes. Recently, several groups suggested a list of conditions when a trauma team is considered to be essential in the initial care in the emergency room. The objective of the survey was to post hoc identify trauma-related conditions that are thought to require a specialized trauma team that may be widely accepted, independent from the country’s income level. Methods A set of questions was developed, centered around the level of agreement with the proposed post hoc criteria to define adequate trauma team activation. The participants gave feedback before they answered the survey to improve the quality of the questions. The finalized survey was conducted using an online tool and a word form. The income per capita of a country was rated according to the World Bank Country and Lending groups. Results The return rate was 76% with a total of 37 countries participating. The agreement with the proposed criteria to define post hoc correct requirements for trauma team activation was more than 75% for 12 of the 20 criteria. The rate of disagreement was low and varied between zero and 13%. The level of agreement was independent from the country’s level of income. Conclusions The agreement on criteria to post hoc define correct requirements for trauma team activation appears high and it may be concluded that the proposed criteria could be useful for most countries, independent from their level of income. Nevertheless, more discussions on an international level appear to be warranted to achieve a full consensus to define a universal set of criteria that will allow for quality assessment of over- and undertriage of trauma team activation as well as for the validation of field triage criteria for the most severely injured patients worldwide.

Introduction Trauma is the third cause of death among the general population in Poland, and the first in people aged 1-44 years. Trauma centers are hospitals dedicated to treating patients with multiple organ injuries, in a complex way that endeavours to ensure a lower mortality rate, shorter hospital stay and better outcomes if the patients are transferred to such a center. Worldwide, there are many models on how to treat a trauma patient, but them to be qualified for the procedure, the selection of potential patients is crucial. Objective The aim of the study was to compare the Polish model for qualification to a trauma center and American Guidelines for Field Triage. Material and methods Retrospective analysis of medical documentation recorded between 1 January 2014 - 31 December 2014 was undertaken. The study concerned trauma patients admitted to the Emergency Department of the Regional Trauma Center at the Copernicus Memorial Hospital in Łodź, Poland. Inclusion criterion was initial diagnosis 'multiple-organ injury' among patients transported by the Emergency Medical Service (EMS). Results In the period indicated, 3,173 patients were admitted to the Emergency Department at the Copernicus Memorial Hospital. From among them, 159 patients were included in the study. Only 13.2% of the patients fulfilled the Polish Qualification Criteria to Trauma Center in comparison to 87.4% who fulfilled the American Guidelines for Field Triage. Conclusions Polish qualification criteria do not consider the large group of patients with severe injuries (ISS>15), but indicate patients with minimal chance of survival. Polish criteria do not consider the mechanism of injury, which is a relevant predictive indicator of severe or extremely severe injuries (ISS>15). Further studies should be undertaken to improve the qualification and treatment of trauma patients in Poland.

BackgroundEndovascular therapy (EVT) for stroke improves outcomes but is time sensitive.ObjectiveTo compare times to treatment and outcomes between patients taken to the closest primary stroke center (PSC) with those triaged in the field to a more distant comprehensive stroke center (CSC).MethodsDuring the study, a portion of our region allowed field triage of patients who met severity criteria to a more distant CSC than the closest PSC. The remaining patients were transported to the closest PSC. We compared times to treatment and clinical outcomes between those two groups. Additionally, we performed a matched-pairs analysis of patients from both groups on stroke severity and distance to CSC.ResultsOver 2 years, 232 patients met inclusion criteria and were closest from the field to a PSC; 144 were taken to the closest PSC and 88 to the more distant CSC. The median additional transport time to the CSC was 7 min. Times from scene departure to alteplase and arterial puncture were faster in the direct group (50 vs 62 min; 93 vs 152 min; pConclusionsIn a densely populated setting, for patients with stroke who are EVT candidates and closest to a PSC from the field, triage to a slightly more distant CSC is associated with faster time to EVT, no delay to alteplase, and less disability at 90 days.

Introduction:The term “golden hour” describes the first 60 minutes after patients sustain injury. In resource-available settings, rapid transport to trauma centers within this time period is standard-of-care. We compared transport times of injured civilians in modern conflict zones to assess the degree to which injured civilians are transported within the golden hour in these environments.Methods:We evaluated PubMed, Ovid, and Web of Science databases for manuscripts describing transport time after trauma among civilian victims of trauma from January 1990 to November 2017.Results:The initial database search identified 2704 abstracts. Twenty-nine studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria. Conflicts in Yugoslavia/Bosnia/Herzegovina, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Cambodia, Somalia, Georgia, Lebanon, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Turkey were represented, describing 47 273 patients. Only 7 (24%) manuscripts described transport times under 1 hour. Transport typically required several hours to days.Conclusion:Anticipated transport times have important implications for field triage of injured persons in civilian conflict settings because existing overburdened civilian health care systems may become further overwhelmed if in-hospital health capacity is unable to keep pace with inflow of the severely wounded.

BACKGROUND: Comorbid conditions and anticoagulants have been considered as field triage criteria to raise the sensitivity for identifying seriously injured older adults, but research is sparse. We evaluated the utility of comorbidities, anticoagulant use, and geriatric-specific physiologic measures to improve the sensitivity of the field triage guidelines for high-risk older adults in the out-of-hospital setting. METHODS: This was a cohort study of injured adults ≥ 65 years transported by 44 EMS agencies to 51 trauma and non-trauma hospitals in 7 Oregon and Washington counties from 1/1/2011 to 12/31/2011. Out-of-hospital predictors included: current field triage criteria, 13 comorbidities, pre-injury anticoagulant use, and previously developed geriatric specific physiologic measures. The primary outcome (high-risk patients) was: Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16 or need for major non-orthopedic surgical intervention. We used binary recursive partitioning to develop a clinical decision rule with a target sensitivity of ≥ 95%. RESULTS: There were 5,021 older adults, of which 320 (6.4%) had ISS ≥ 16 or required major non-orthopedic surgery. Of the 2,639 patients with pre-injury medication history available, 400 (15.2%) were taking an anticoagulant. Current field triage practices were 36.6% sensitive (95% CI 31.2 – 42.0%) and 90.1% specific (95% CI 89.2 – 91.0%) for high-risk patients. Recursive partitioning identified (in order): any current field triage criteria; GCS ≤ 14; geriatric-specific vital signs; and comorbidity count ≥ 2. Anticoagulant use was not identified as a predictor variable. The new criteria were 90.3% sensitive (95% CI 86.8 – 93.7%) and 17.0% specific (95% CI 15.8 – 18.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The current field triage guidelines have poor sensitivity for high-risk older adults. Adding comorbidity information and geriatric-specific physiologic measures improved sensitivity, with a decrement in specificity. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II evidence. Retrospective cohort study with consecutive patients, compared to a criterion gold standard – diagnostic test/criteria.

Background/Purpose: To explore the association of patient injury patterns and entrapped locations inside damaged buildings in the 2016 Taiwan earthquake. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using the Tainan incident registry system. Residents inside nine conjunctive, 16-story (49.3 m in height) reinforced concrete buildings were categorized as non-injured, injured, and dead. Residents were classified into different groups according to their entrapped locations in height and the severity of building damage. The field triage acuity and trauma severity among groups were compared. Statistical significance was set at the level of 0.05. Results: There were 309 enrollees with 76 (24.6%) non-injured, 118 (38.2%) injured, and 115 (37.2%) dead. Residents either in the high floors (odds ratio [OR] = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.5–5.8, p = 0.003) or in the collapsed buildings (OR = 18.2, 95% CI: 7.6–43.6, p

Emergency medical services (EMS) systems were initially developed in the United States during the late 1960s. Modeled from military experiences, EMS demonstrated that survival for prehospital patients could be improved with enhanced field triage, treatment, and transport protocols. Over the next few decades, it was identified that children and adolescents had poorer outcomes in similar acute medical situations as compared to adults. To address this, the emergency medical services for children (EMSC) program was established in 1985 as a federal initiative to ensure appropriate resources and adequately trained personnel are available to meet the emergency care needs of children who are critically ill and injured. In 1994, the Illinois EMSC program was established and a pediatric facility recognition program to improve the emergency care of pediatric patients was rolled out in 1998. This article reviews the development of EMSC facility recognition programs and discusses their unique characteristics and contributions to improved pediatric emergency care. [ Pediatr Ann . 2021;50(4):e165–e171.]

Purpose Priority-setting by dispatch centers and Emergency Medical Services professionals has a major impact on pre-hospital triage and times of trauma patients. Patients requiring specialized care benefit from expedited transport to higher-level trauma centers, while transportation of these patients to lower-level trauma centers is associated with higher mortality rates. This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of priority-setting by dispatch centers and Emergency Medical Services professionals. Methods This observational study included trauma patients transported from the scene of injury to a trauma center. Priority-setting was evaluated in terms of the proportion of patients requiring specialized trauma care assigned with the highest priority (i.e., sensitivity), undertriage, and overtriage. Patients in need of specialized care were defined by a composite resource-based endpoint. An Injury Severity Score ≥ 16 served as a secondary reference standard. Results Between January 2015 and December 2017, records of 114,459 trauma patients were collected, of which 3327 (2.9%) patients were in need of specialized care according to the primary reference standard. Dispatch centers and Emergency Medical Services professionals assigned 83.8% and 74.5% of these patients with the highest priority, respectively. Undertriage rates ranged between 22.7 and 65.5% in the different prioritization subgroups. There were differences between dispatch and transport priorities in 17.7% of the patients. Conclusion The majority of patients that required specialized care were assigned with the highest priority by the dispatch centers and Emergency Medical Services professionals. Highly accurate priority criteria could improve the quality of pre-hospital triage.

Centers for disease control (CDC) Guidelines for Field Triage are effective when proper implementation by EMS personnel is paired with surgeon willingness to care for trauma victims. We hypothesized that in a state with an immature trauma system, a discrepancy exists between medic and surgeon perception of surgical readiness, coinciding with inconsistent implementation of protocols. Surveys were conducted among medics and general surgeons. Destination protocols, trauma center locations, surgeon readiness, and interest in trauma were assessed. A standard clinical trauma scenario was also used. Surgeon willingness to operate is not affected by working outside of trauma centers or interest in trauma. Medics working far from trauma centers are less confident in local surgeon's willingness to operate and less likely to have destination protocols. Trauma center proximity affects medic perception of surgeon willingness to operate, but mere presence of general surgeons does not. In a trauma scenario, surgeon willingness to operate was related to medic perception but not action. In rural states, most surgeons do not work in trauma centers and most medics do not work near them. Although most responding surgeons indicate willingness to operate, medics are confident of such willingness only half the time. This disparity results in inconsistent use of the CDC guidelines. Although most medics report protocols for destination determination, nearly one-fourth of victims are taken to the geographically closest centers, sometimes with no surgeon at all. Efforts at medic training, enhancing surgeon readiness, and alignment of goals are necessary for the CDC Guidelines to be effective.

Field triage guidelines recommend transport of head-injured patients on anticoagulants or antiplatelets to a higher-level trauma center based on studies suggesting a high incidence of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (tICH). We compared the incidence of tICH in older adults transported by emergency medical services (EMS) with and without anticoagulation or antiplatelet use and evaluated the accuracies of different sets of field triage criteria to identify tICH. This was a prospective, observational study at five EMS agencies and 11 hospitals. Older adults (≥55 years) with head trauma and transported by EMS from August 2015 to September 2016 were eligible. EMS providers completed standardized data forms and patients were followed through emergency department (ED) or hospital discharge. We enrolled 1304 patients; 1147 (88%) received a cranial computed tomography (CT) scan and were eligible for analysis. Four hundred thirty-four (33%) patients had anticoagulant or antiplatelet use and 112 (10%) had tICH. The incidence of tICH in patients with (11%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 8%-14%) and without (9%, 95% CI 7%-11%) anticoagulant or antiplatelet use was similar. Anticoagulant or antiplatelet use was not predictive of tICH on adjusted analysis. Steps 1-3 criteria alone were not sensitive in identifying tICH (27%), whereas the addition of anticoagulant or antiplatelet criterion improved sensitivity (63%). Other derived sets of triage criteria were highly sensitive (>98%) but poorly specific (

Importance A major component of trauma care is adequate prehospital triage. To optimize the prehospital triage system, it is essential to gain insight in the quality of prehospital triage of the entire trauma system. Objective To prospectively evaluate the quality of the field triage system to identify severely injured adult trauma patients. Design, Setting, and Participants Prehospital and hospital data of all adult trauma patients during 2012 to 2014 transported with the highest priority by emergency medical services professionals to 10 hospitals in Central Netherlands were prospectively collected. Prehospital data collected by the emergency medical services professionals were matched to hospital data collected in the trauma registry. An Injury Severity Score of 16 or more was used to determine severe injury. Main Outcomes and Measures The quality and diagnostic accuracy of the field triage protocol and compliance of emergency medical services professionals to the protocol. Results A total of 4950 trauma patients were evaluated of which 436 (8.8%) patients were severely injured. The undertriage rate based on actual destination facility was 21.6% (95% CI, 18.0-25.7) with an overtriage rate of 30.6% (95% CI, 29.3-32.0). Analysis of the protocol itself, regardless of destination facility, resulted in an undertriage of 63.8% (95% CI, 59.2-68.1) and overtriage of 7.4% (95% CI, 6.7-8.2). The compliance to the field triage trauma protocol was 73% for patients with a level 1 indication. Conclusions and Relevance More than 20% of the patients with severe injuries were not transported to a level I trauma center. These patients are at risk for preventable morbidity and mortality. This finding indicates the need for improvement of the prehospital triage protocol.

In 2011, revised Field Triage Guidelines were released jointly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Surgeons - Committee on Trauma (ACS-COT). It is unknown how the modifications will affect the number of injured children identified by EMS providers as needing transport to a trauma center.To determine the change in under- and over-triage rates when the 2011 Field Triage Guidelines are compared to the 2006 and 1999 versions.EMS providers in charge of care for injured children (15 years) transported to pediatric trauma centers in 3 mid-sized cities were interviewed immediately after completing transport. Patients were included regardless of injury severity. The interview included patient demographics and each criterion from the Field Triage Guidelines' physiologic status, anatomic injury, and mechanism of injury steps. Included patients were followed through hospital discharge. The 1999, 2006, and 2011 Guidelines were each retrospectively applied to the collected data. Children were considered to have needed a trauma center if they had non-orthopedic surgery within 24 hours, ICU admission, or died. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.EMS interviews were conducted for 5,610 children and outcome data was available for 5,594 (99.7%). Average age was 7.6 years; 5% of children were identified as needing a trauma center using the study outcome. Applying the 1999, 2006, or 2011 Guidelines to the EMS interview data the over-triage rate was 32.6%, 27.9%, and 28.0%, respectively. The under-triage rate was 26.5%, 35.1%, and 34.8%, respectively. The 2011 Guidelines resulted in an 8.2% (95% CI 0.6-15.9%) absolute increase in under-triage and a 4.6% (95% CI 2.8-6.3%) decrease in over-triage compared to 1999 Guidelines.Use of the Field Triage Guidelines for children resulted in an unacceptably high rate of under-triage regardless of the version used. Use of the 2011 Guidelines increased under-triage compared to the 1999 version. Research is needed to determine how to better assist EMS providers in identifying children who need the resources of a trauma center.

Objective In 2006, the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma and the Center for Disease Control released field triage guidelines with special consideration for older adults. Additional considerations for direct transport to a Level I or II trauma center (TC) were added in 2011, reflecting perceived undertriage to TCs for older adults. We examined whether age-based disparities in TC care for severe head injury decreased following introduction of the 2011 revisions. Methods A pre-post design analyzing the 2009 and 2012 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) and State Inpatient Databases (SID) with multivariable logistic regressions considered changes in (1) the trauma designation of the emergency department where treatment was initiated and (2) transfer to a TC following initial treatment at a non-TC. Results Compared with adults aged 18–44 years, after multivariable adjustment, in both years TC care was less likely for adults aged 45–64 years (OR: 0.76 in 2009 and 0.74 in 2012), aged 65–84 years (OR: 0.61 and 0.59), and aged 85+ years (OR: 0.53 and 0.56). Between 2009 and 2012, the likelihood of TC care increased for all age groups, with the largest increase among those aged 85+ years (OR = 1.18), which was statistically different (p = .02) from the increase among adults aged 18–44 years (OR = 1.12). The analysis of transfers yielded similar results. Conclusions Although patterns of increased TC treatment for all groups with severe head trauma indicate improvements, age-based disparities persisted. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Objective: Involvement of all regional medical facilities in a trauma system is challenging in rural regions. We hypothesized that the physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service potentially encouraged local facilities to participate in trauma systems by providing the transport of patients with trauma to those facilities in a rural setting. Materials and Methods: We performed two retrospective observational studies. First, yearly changes in the numbers of patients with trauma and destination facilities were surveyed using records from the Miyazaki physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service from April 2012 to March 2014. Second, we obtained data from medical records regarding the mechanism of injury, severity of injury, resuscitative interventions performed within 24 h after admission, secondary transports owing to undertriage by attending physicians, and deaths resulting from potentially preventable causes. Data from patients transported to the designated trauma center and those transported to non-designated trauma centers in Miyazaki were compared. Results: In total, 524 patients were included. The number of patients transported to non-designated trauma centers and the number of non-designated trauma centers receiving patients increased after the second year. We surveyed 469 patient medical records (90%). There were 194 patients with major injuries (41%) and 104 patients with multiple injuries (22%), and 185 patients (39%) received resuscitative interventions. The designated trauma centers received many more patients with trauma (366 vs. 103), including many more patients with major injuries (47% vs. 21%, p < 0.01) and multiple injuries (25% vs. 13%, p < 0.01), than the non-designated trauma centers. The number of patients with major injuries and patients who received resuscitative interventions increased for non-designated trauma centers after the second year. There were 9 secondary transports and 26 deaths. None of these secondary transports resulted from undertriage by staff physicians and none of these deaths resulted from potentially preventable causes. Conclusion: The rural physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service potentially encouraged non-designated trauma centers to participate in trauma systems while maintaining patient safety.

Background In France, the pre-hospital field triage of trauma patients is currently based on the Vittel criteria algorithm. This algorithm was originally created in 2002 before the stratification of trauma centers and, at the national level, has not been revised since. This could be responsible for the overtriage of trauma patients in Level I Trauma Centers. The principal aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between each Vittel field triage criterion and trauma patients’ Injury Severity Score. Methods Our Level I Trauma Center receives an average of 300 trauma patients per year. Demographic and physiological data, along with the entire trauma patient management process and Vittel field triage criteria, are recorded in a local trauma registry. The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS) are calculated after a complete assessment of the trauma victim during their in-hospital management. Results were concerned with the presence of an ISS of greater than 15, which defined a major trauma patient; mortality within 30 days; and admission to the intensive care unit. This study is a registry analysis from January 2013 to September 2017. Results Of the 1373 patients in the registry, 1151 were included in the analysis with a mean age of 43 years (± 19) and a median ISS of 13 (IQR = 5–22), where 887 (77%) were male. Nine of the 24 Vittel criteria were associated with an ISS > 15. In a multivariate analysis, no criterion related to kinetic elements was significantly correlated with an ISS > 15, mortality within 30 days, or admission to intensive care. Three algorithm categories were predictive of a major trauma patient (ISS > 15): physiological variables, pre-hospital resuscitation, and physical injuries, while kinetic elements were not. Conclusions Criteria related to physiological variables, pre-hospital resuscitation, and physical injuries are the most relevant to predicting the severity of a trauma patient’s condition. A revision of the VCA could potentially have beneficial effects on the over and undertriage phenomena, which constitute ongoing medical and financial concerns.

Introduction The prevalence of the junctional ST-depression with tall symmetrical T-waves in a field triage system for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) is unknown. Material and methods We prospectively collected all transmitted 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) from the STEMI field triage system in Amsterdam from 2011 to 2013. Electrocardiograms with junctional ST-depression with tall symmetrical T-waves were recognized and angiographic documentation and clinical follow up were collected. Results A total of 5588 patients with at least 1 transmitted field ECG were identified from the database. ST-elevation infarction was present on the field ECG in 1864 patients (33%) and 701 ECGs (12,5%) showed anterior infarction. In 11 patients, junctional ST-depression with tall symmetrical T-waves was identified (0,2% of total transmitted ECGs and 1,6% of anterior infarctions). The 11 angiograms invariably showed involvement of the proximal Left Anterior Descending (LAD) artery (segment 5,6 and 7). Mortality was 27% within the first week. Conclusions An ECG with junctional ST-depression with tall symmetrical T-waves is an infrequent finding. Because this pattern of STEMI equivalent is associated with LAD occlusions, it is important to recognize this pattern, so patients can be transported to the catheterization laboratory without delay.

Introduction Alternative destination transportation by emergency medical services (EMS) is a subject of hot debate between those favoring all patients being evaluated by an emergency physician (EP) and those recognizing the need to reduce emergency department (ED) crowding. This study aimed to determine whether paramedics could accurately assess a patient's acuity level to determine the need to transport to an ED. Methods We performed a prospective double-blinded analysis of responses recorded by paramedics and EPs of arriving patients' acuity level in a large Level II trauma center between April 2015 and November 2015. Under-triage was defined as lower acuity assessed by paramedics but higher acuity by EPs. Over-triage was defined as higher acuity assessed by paramedics but lower acuity by EPs. The degree of agreement between the paramedics and EPs' evaluations of patient's acuity level was compared using Chi-square test. Results We included a total of 503 patients in the final analysis. For paramedics, 2 51 (49.9%) patients were assessed to be emergent, 178 (35.4%) assessed as urgent, and 74 (14.7%) assessed as non-emergent/non-urgent. In comparison, the EPs assessed 296 (58.9%) patients as emergent, 148 (29.4%) assessed as urgent, and 59 (11.7%) assessed as non-emergent/non-urgent. Paramedics agreed with EPs regarding the acuity level assessment on 71.8% of the cases. The overall under- and over-triage were 19.3% and 8.9%, respectively. A moderate Kappa=0.5174 indicated moderate inter-rater agreement between paramedics' and EPs' assessment on the same cohort of patients. Conclusion There is a significant difference in paramedic and physician assessment of patients into emergent, urgent, or non-emergent/non-urgent categories. The field triage of a patient to an alternative destination by paramedics under their current scope of practice and training cannot be supported.

The accurate assessment and diagnosis of combat injuries are the basis for triage and treatment of combat casualties. A consensus on the assessment and diagnosis of combat injuries was made and discussed at the second annual meeting of the Professional Committee on Disaster Medicine of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). In this consensus agreement, the massive hemorrhage, airway, respiration, circulation and hypothermia (MARCH) algorithm, which is a simple triage and rapid treatment and field triage score, was recommended to assess combat casualties during the first-aid stage, whereas the abbreviated scoring method for combat casualty and the MARCH algorithm were recommended to assess combat casualties in level II facilities. In level III facilities, combined measures, including a history inquiry, thorough physical examination, laboratory examination, X-ray, and ultrasound examination, were recommended for the diagnosis of combat casualties. In addition, corresponding methods were recommended for the recognition of casualties needing massive transfusions, assessment of firearm wounds, evaluation of mangled extremities, and assessment of injury severity in this consensus.

Mass casualty incident (MCI) triage and the use of triage tags to assign treatment priorities are not fully implemented despite emergency medical services (EMS) personnel training during drills and exercises.To compare current field triage practices during both training and actual MCIs and identify any potential barriers to use.During training sessions from November 2015 through March 2016, an anonymous survey was distributed to personnel in 3 distinct types of paid full-time EMS systems: Boston EMS (2-tiered, municipal third-service); Portland Fire Department (fire department-based ALS); and Stokes County EMS (county-based ALS) combined with Forsyth County EMS (county-based ALS). Data included personnel demographics and previous participation experiences in both drill and actual MCIs. Personnel with any prior MCI experience were queried regarding triage tag use and type of algorithm used. Data on barriers to use of triage tags and methods of communication of patient information were also collected. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses.Overall survey participation rate was 77.9% (464/596). Among all respondents, 38.7% (179/464) reported participating in both a drill and actual MCI's. In these cases, respondents reported less likely use of triage tags during actual MCI's compared to drills, (34.1 vs. 91.8%, p0.01), less likely to complete full triage (16.3 vs. 68.7%, p0.01) and less likely to employ geographical triage (56.8 vs. 90.4% p0.01). Verbal report was the most common communication method to hospitals (93.1%) when triage tags were not used. Responders reported proximity to the hospital as the most common reason for not using triage tags during an actual MCI (29.5%).Despite being a fundamental skill in MCI response, triage and other standard practices have not always been utilized in actual events despite training. EMS educators and disaster planners should consider strategies to better incorporate MCI practices during real world events.

Introduction: Treatment for large vessel occlusion is profoundly time dependent. Two potential mechanisms to reduce time to treatment are optimizing transfers from Primary Stroke Centers (PSC) and transporting selected patients directly to a Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC). In our region, we sequentially implemented both interventions. We sought to evaluate the impact of 1) Optimization of PSC transfer protocols and 2) implementation of a severity based EMS triage protocol on times to treatment and outcomes. Methods: All thrombectomy patients in our state treated over 24 months were retrospectively reviewed. We included patients with anterior circulation LVO, presenting within 6 hours, with an NIHSS of 6 or higher. An EMS protocol was introduced such that patients with a field LAMS score of 4 or higher, within 30 minutes of the CSC, would be directly transported to the CSC. Patients from adjacent states (where the EMS protocol would not apply) as well as inpatient strokes were excluded. We examined the proportion of patients who were directly transported to the CSC, as well as trends in time to treatment with IV tPA and thrombectomy from the time of first hospital arrival (PSC or CSC). Time periods were as follows: 7/1/2015 to 12/31/2015 (Pre-optimization and pre-triage); 1/1/2016 to 12/31/2016 (PSC optimization; pre-triage) and 1/1/2017 to 6/30/2017 (PSC optimization and triage). Primary outcome measures were times to treatment, discharge to home, and in-hospital mortality. Results: The results are summarized in the table below. Marked decreases in median time from first hospital arrival to recanalization were seen, from 156 to 109 minutes over time. In addition, there were increases in discharge home, and decreases in in-hospital mortality across each of the time periods. Conclusions: Through a combination of field triage and optimization of PSC workflow, it is possible to reduce times to thrombectomy and improve outcomes across an entire region.

INTRODUCTION Favorable outcomes in intraarterial therapy (IAT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) are related to early vessel recanalization. The mobile stroke treatment unit (MSTU) is an on-site, prehospital, treatment team, laboratory, and CT scanner that reduces time to treatment for intravenous thrombolysis and may also shorten time to IAT. METHODS Using our MSTU database, we identified patients that underwent IAT for AIS. We compared the key time metrics to historical controls, which included patients that underwent IAT at our institution six months prior to implementation of the MSTU. We further divided the controls into two groups: (1) transferred to our institution for IAT and (2) directly presented to our emergency room and underwent IAT. RESULTS After 164 days of service, the MSTU transported 155 patients of which 5 underwent IAT. We identified 5 historical controls that were transferred to our center for IAT. Substantial reduction in times including median door to initial CT (12 minute vs. 32 minute), CT to IAT (82 minute vs. 165 minute), and door to MSTU/primary stroke center departure (37 minute vs. 106 minute) were noted among the two groups. Compared to the 6 patients who presented to our institution directly, the MSTU process times were also shorter. CONCLUSION Our initial experience shows that MSTU may help in early triage and shorten the time to IAT for AIS.

This study aimed to validate the criteria for early critical care resource (CCR) use as an outcome predictor for seriously injured patients triaged in the field by comparing the effectiveness of the criteria for early CCR use with that of criteria defined by an Injury Severity Score (ISS)15.We analysed data from seriously injured trauma patients who were triaged using a field triage protocol by emergency medical service providers (EMS-ST patients). Early CCR use was defined as the use of any of the following treatment modalities or outcomes: advanced airway management, blood transfusion, or interventional radiology (4h), emergency operation or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or thoracotomy (24h), or admission for spinal cord injury. The primary endpoint was inhospital mortality. We generated area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves to compare the value of the early CCR use criteria with that of the ISS15 criteria in the discrimination between survivors and non-survivors.Of the 14,352 adult EMS-ST patients, 9299 were enrolled in this study. Approximately 19.6% required early CCR use, and 18.0% had an ISS15. The rate of in-hospital mortality was 9.4%. The AUROC values for the performances of the early CCR use and ISS15 criteria in the prediction of in-hospital mortality were 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85-0.91) and 0.84 (95% CI 0.79-0.86), respectively (p0.01).The early CCR use criteria demonstrated better performance than the ISS15 criteria in the prediction of mortality in EMS-ST patients.

Background The multilevel designation system given to U.S. trauma centers has proven useful in providing injury-level-appropriate care and guiding field triage. Despite the system, patients are often transferred to Level I trauma centers for higher-level care/specialized services. Objectives The objective of this study is to assess whether there is a difference in outcomes of patients transferred to Level I centers compared with direct admissions. Methods The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was queried to identify patients involved in motor vehicle accidents, using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification E-codes. Patients that were admitted to Level I trauma centers were identified using American College of Surgeons or American Trauma Society designations. Results There were 343,868 patients that met inclusion criteria. Of these patients, 29.2% (100,297) were admitted to Level I trauma centers, 5.7% (5691) of which were identified as trauma transfers. The lead admitting diagnosis for transfers was pelvic fracture (11.5%). Caucasians were 2.62 times as likely to be transferred as African-Americans (confidence interval 2.32–2.97), and 3.71 times as likely as Hispanics (confidence interval 3.25–4.23). Despite transfer patients having higher adjusted severity scores and higher adjusted risk of mortality, there were no differences in mortality ( p = 0.95). Conclusions Nationally, trauma transfers do not have an increase in mortality when compared with directly admitted patients, despite a higher adjusted severity of illness and higher adjusted risk of mortality.

The purpose of this article is to provide a quick reference for field triage of the sick neonatal foal. Therefore, information is focused toward diagnostics and treatments that can be performed in the field. When evaluating a weak, recumbent, or lethargic foal on a farm, it is often difficult to make a definitive diagnosis. Therefore, the approach should be to treat what is treatable and prevent what is preventable. In many cases, the goal will be to stabilize a foal before referral to a tertiary care facility where more intensive and continuous treatment can be performed.

Emergency medical care for children has evolved immensely over the past 30 years. During this period, much has been accomplished to improve the quality of care delivered to injured children in the United States. In this article, we will highlight specific examples of how trauma care of children has changed and improved in recent decades. Beginning with the importance of injury prevention, the article will also discuss the specific management of traumatic brain injury, blast injury, and field triage of mass casualty situations before concluding with highlights of other changes and advances that have occurred.

To assess whether pediatric trauma patients initially evaluated at referring institutions met Massachusetts statewide trauma field triage criteria for stabilization and immediate transfer to a Pediatric Trauma Center (PTC) without pre-transfer CT imaging.A 3-year retrospective cohort study was completed at our level 1 PTC. Patients with CT imaging at referring institutions were classified according to a triage scheme based on Massachusetts statewide trauma field triage criteria. Demographic data and injury profile characteristics were abstracted from patient medical records and our pediatric trauma registry.A total of 262 patients with 413 CT scans were reviewed from 2008 to 2011. 172 patients scanned (66%, 95% CI: 60%, 71%) met criteria for immediate transfer to a pediatric trauma center. Notably, 110 scans (27% of the total performed at referring institutions) were duplicated within four hours upon arrival to our PTC. GCS score14 (45%) was the most common requirement for transfer, and CT scan of the head was the most frequent scan obtained (53%).The majority of pediatric trauma patients were subjected to CT scans at referring institutions despite meeting Massachusetts trauma triage guidelines that call for stabilization and immediate transfer to a pediatric trauma center without any CT imaging.

Elevated blood glucose levels (BGL) are known to be part of the physiologic response to stress following physical trauma. We aimed to study whether a measured BGL might help improve accuracy of field triage.We conducted a retrospective study using the Israel Defense Forces Trauma Registry. BGLs were determined upon hospital arrival and were not available to medical providers in the field.There were 706 casualties in the registry who had a recorded BGL upon hospital arrival. Sixty percent (18/30) of casualties who had a BGL ≥200 mg/dL had been triaged in the field as severely wounded, whereas 11% (71/651) of casualties who had a BGL200 mg/dL had been triaged as severely wounded. For predicting an Injury Severity Score15, the positive likelihood ratio using field triage of severe was 11, using BGL ≥200 mg/dL was 8, and using a combination of the two tests was 26. For predicting the need for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, the ratios were 8, 13, and 23, respectively.Elevated BGL improved prediction of high Injury Severity Score and ICU use among casualties triaged as severe. If future research using BGL measured in the field yields similar results, combining BGL with standard field triage may allow for more accurate identification of casualties who need acute field intervention, have major injury, or require ICU admission.

Background: Many studies have commented on the usefulness of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) for the transportation of trauma patients. However, several studies have also noted that the majority of patients transported by HEMS to Level I trauma centers had minor injuries, and warned of inappropriate use of HEMS and the need for appropriate prehospital triage. In Japan, information about the injury severity of trauma patients transported by HEMS is lacking, and the appropriateness of field triage performed by HEMS is not clear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of HEMS transportation in terms of the injury severity of trauma patients who were transported to our Emergency and Critical Care Medical Center (ECCMC) in Fukushima, Japan. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated all trauma patients who were brought to our ECCMC from the scene of an accident between March 1, 2009 and January 31, 2012. We compared Injury Severity Score (ISS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and probability of survival (Ps) as indicators of trauma severity, and emergency operation rate, intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, and mechanical ventilation rate as indicators of specialized trauma care between patients transported by HEMS and those transported by ground ambulance (GA). Results: We identified 450 trauma patients (324 males and 126 females, aged 51±24 years), of which 110 (24.4%) were transported by HEMS. The HEMS group had significantly more severe trauma than the GA group (ISS: 17.7±11.5 vs. 12.4±9.5, p, 【背景】ヘリコプター救急システム（helicopter emergency medical services: HEMS）の外傷症例に対する有用性は多くの報告で示唆されている。一方で，外傷症例の重症度の観点から，HEMSにおける不適切な現場トリアージに警鐘を鳴らす報告もある。本邦においては，HEMS（ドクターヘリ）で搬送された外傷症例の重症度，および現場トリアージの実態は明らかになっていない。【対象および方法】2009年3月1日から2012年1月31日の期間に当院救命救急センターへ現場から直接搬送された全ての鈍的外傷症例を後方視的に調査し，重症度（Injury Severity Score（ISS），Revised Trauma Score（RTS），Probability of survival（Ps）），入院後管理（緊急手術率，ICU収容率，機械換気率）についてHEMS群と救急車（ground ambulance: GA）群で比較検討した。【結果】450症例（男性324名，年齢 51±24歳）が特定され，110例（24.4%）がHEMSで搬送されていた。HEMS群はGA群に比較して有意に重症で（ISS 17.7±11.5 vs. 12.4±9.5，p

Background and Purpose— The Emergency Medical Services field triage to stroke centers has gained considerable complexity with the recent demonstration of clinical benefit of endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke. We sought to describe a new smartphone freeware application designed to assist Emergency Medical Services professionals with the field assessment and destination triage of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods— Review of the application’s platform and its development as well as the different variables, assessments, algorithms, and assumptions involved. Results— The FAST-ED (Field Assessment Stroke Triage for Emergency Destination) application is based on a built-in automated decision-making algorithm that relies on (1) a brief series of questions assessing patient’s age, anticoagulant usage, time last known normal, motor weakness, gaze deviation, aphasia, and hemineglect; (2) a database of all regional stroke centers according to their capability to provide endovascular treatment; and (3) Global Positioning System technology with real-time traffic information to compute the patient’s eligibility for intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator or endovascular treatment as well as the distances/transportation times to the different neighboring stroke centers in order to assist Emergency Medical Services professionals with the decision about the most suitable destination for any given patient with acute ischemic stroke. Conclusions— The FAST-ED smartphone application has great potential to improve the triage of patients with acute ischemic stroke, as it seems capable to optimize resources, reduce hospital arrivals times, and maximize the use of both intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator and endovascular treatment ultimately leading to better clinical outcomes. Future field studies are needed to properly evaluate the impact of this tool in stroke outcomes and resource utilization.

Guidelines suggest that Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) related hospitalizations are best treated at Level I or II trauma centers because of continuous neurosurgical care in these settings. This population-based study examines TBI hospitalization treatment paths by age groups.Trauma center utilization and transfers by age groups were captured by examining the total number of TBI hospitalizations from National Inpatient Sample (NIS) and the number of TBI hospitalizations and transfers in the Trauma Data Bank National Sample Population (NTDB-NSP). TBI cases were defined using diagnostic codes.Of the 351,555 TBI related hospitalizations in 2012, 47.9% (n = 168,317) were directly treated in a Level I or II trauma center, and an additional 20.3% (n = 71,286) were transferred to a Level I or II trauma center. The portion of the population treated at a trauma center (68.2%) was significantly lower than the portion of the U.S. population who has access to a major trauma center (90%). Further, nearly half of all transfers to a Level I or II trauma center were adults aged 55 and older (p0.001) and that 20.2% of pediatric patients arrive by non-ambulatory means.Utilization of trauma center resources for hospitalized TBIs may be low considering the established lower mortality rate associated with treatment at Level I or II trauma centers. The higher transfer rate for older adults may suggest rapid decline amid an unrecognized initial need for a trauma center care. A better understanding of hospital destination decision making is needed for patients with TBI.

Introduction: Cross-border firing are increasingly being common in the modern era. The injuries resulting from these low intensity conflicts are a source of anxiety among treating physicians and their respective governments. The provisions are required to minimise the suffering of the victims viz. Mode of injuries, mortality patterns, adequacy of treatment at pre-hospital and tertiary care hospital and provisions to decrease morbidity and mortality for the people living in these areas. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in GMCH, Jammu who suffered injuries due to cross border firing in the month of October, 2014. 68 patients were reported in the causality wing. All the patients were referred from level 2 trauma centre. There were 51 males and 17 females out of which 5 were children. The cause of injury, involvement of organ system, cause of mortality and morbidity and loopholes in prehospital management were identified. Results: Sharpnel were the most common cause of injury followed by indirect trauma. The common cause of mortality was abdominal and thoracic injuries. There were 4 deaths at hospital 2 of which were brought dead and 2 died during the course of treatment. There were twenty patients with extremity injuries, fourteen with chest trauma, eleven with abdomen including parineal injuries, three with head injuries, eight with ENT injuries, three with eye injuries and nine with splinters in the back out of which two were in the spinal canal. Conclusion: Prehospital stabilisation, early transport, in-transit resuscitation, immediate surgery if required and implementation of triage model and ATLS protocol has been the key to reduce mortality and morbidity.

Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common cause of death and disability in pediatric trauma. This review looks at the strategies to treat TBI in a temporal fashion. We examine the targets for resuscitation from field triage to definitive care in the pediatric ICU.Guidelines for the management of pediatric TBI exist. The themes of contemporary clinical research have been compliance with these guidelines and refinement of treatment recommendations developing a more sophisticated understanding of the pathophysiology of the injured brain. In the field, the aim has been to achieve routine compliance with the resuscitation goals. In the hospital, efforts have been directed at improving our ability to monitor the injured brain, developing techniques that limit brain swelling, and customizing brain perfusion.As our understanding of pediatric TBI evolves, the ambition is that age-specific and perhaps individual brain injury strategies based upon feedback from continuous monitors will be defined. In addition, vogue methods such as hypothermia, hypertonic saline, and aggressive surgical decompression may prove to impact brain swelling and outcomes.

This study prospectively evaluates the quality of the field triage system to identify severely injured adult trauma patients.

Objective To describe the 1861 injured inpatients and deaths in the West China Hospital of Sichuan University after the Wenchuan earthquake, to provide evidence to help improve emergency plans for earthquake, and the establishment of state-level regional medical centers. Methods The analyses use, data provided by the Department of Information of the hospital up until 23 July 2008. Microsoft Excel for data input and SPSS 11.5 for statistical analysis were used. Results By 23 July, 2728 people from the disaster areas had been treated in the hospital, of whom 872 were admitted to the emergency department and 1856 to the inpatient department (974 men, median age 43 years; 882 women, median age 46 years). Most (82.4%) patients were sent to the hospital within the first two weeks after the earthquake, and the number of inpatients reached its peak on day 8 (976 cases). Most (60.2%) of the inpatients were discharged between day 9 and day 18. The injured patients came mainly from Deyang, Aba Prefecture and Dujiangyan. On admission, the diagnoses were mainly fracture (54.8%), craniocerebral injury (9.8%), and thoracoabdominal injury (7.5%). Thirty-three patients died, including five who were dead on arrival at the hospital, one death in the emergency department, and 27 inpatient deaths. Conclusion The development of an emergency plan for medical rescue after an earthquake disaster is an essential step to enhance emergency response capability, to improve the scientific process of field triage, transport and transfer, and to ensure the rational allocation and application of healthcare resources after large disasters in the future.

Israel has been subject to hundreds of violent acts against the civilian population in the last several years, many of them mass casualty incidents involving children. The pediatric age group is characterized by unique anatomical, physiological, and developmental traits that make the treatment of traumatic injury particularly difficult. The aim of article is to review and analyze the cumulative experience gained in Israel with the management of children injured in mass casualty incidents, with a focus on the structure and modified triage algorithm of the national emergency medical system and the recommendations of the National Committee on the Management of Pediatric Mass Casualty Incidents.

The use of trauma field triage criteria is designed to match a patient's injury type and severity to prioritized transport and an institution with the resources to provide timely, definitive care. Triage schemes used in austere environments created by war or mass casualty events are less applicable to day-to-day civilian trauma. Civilian triage criteria, developed and refined over the past 25 years, rely on physiologic, anatomic, and mechanistic indicators of severe injury in an attempt to optimize overtriage and undertriage. As organized trauma systems continue to mature, the need for more accurate direction of high- versus low-acuity patients to regional centers, stratified by their capabilities, becomes more apparent and is essential in avoiding a completely 'exclusive' trauma system. New technology utilizing vehicular telemetry and Web-based information systems may simplify the seemingly simple but often formidable task of creating destination decision rules for victims of major injury.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) field triage guidelines are used to determine which patients require prompt transport to a trauma center and which can be transported to a lower-level facility. The objective of this report was to conduct a literature review to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the ACS field triage criteria and each step of the criteria. The bibliographic database MEDLINE was used to conduct a literature search for relevant English-language articles published between 1966 and 2005. The search was conducted by combining the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) "emergency medical services," "triage," and "wounds and injury." To ensure that the search was comprehensive, the reference sections of all selected articles were searched for additional relevant references and searches by other organizations were reviewed to identify additional relevant articles. The MEDLINE search identified 542 titles. The author reviewed the titles, and 107 abstracts were selected for further review. Through the MEDLINE search, the reference section review, and the review of other searches, 80 articles were identified as relevant. Of those, five studies evaluated the full ACS criteria. Two of these calculated the specificity (8%) and/or sensitivity (95%-97%) of the ACS criteria. The remaining studies looked at the percentage of patients transported or admitted to a trauma center. Three studies looked at the predictive value of the physiologic step, and one of these calculated the sensitivity (56%) and specificity (86%). Two studies specifically analyzed the anatomic step. One of these calculated the sensitivity (45%). This search found that there is insufficient evidence to support the overall ACS field triage criteria. However, of the various steps, the physiologic and anatomic steps had the best evidence to support them.

As trauma is the leading cause of death for persons 1 to 24 years in Japan, the trauma system must be established to save lives and to reduce serious sequelae. However, the trauma system has not been evaluated since 2000. In May 2002, it revealed that the deaths of about 40% of expired trauma patients who arrived at emergency centers with some vital signs were probably preventable. This result increased the awareness of the need for establishing the trauma system. Then, the Japan Prehospital Trauma Evaluation and Care program for emergency medical technicians was developed, the doctor helicopter system was promoted, the Japan Advanced Trauma Evaluation and Care program for physicians was developed, and the trauma registry program was started. The extension of the procedures that can be performed by Japanese paramedics should be extended with the establishment of a medical control system. However, the key to securing quality regional trauma care is to designate a trauma care hospital as a trauma center and to transport severely injured patients there as rapidly as possible.