[Impact of formation programs in initial management of injured children]

In 1997 we developed the "Pediatric Trauma Life Support Course"applied to every one who provide care for the pediatric trauma patient. Since November 1997 until December 2000, 14 courses were imparted inside of the "Comunidad de Madrid" with total number of 289 students. Thirty-eight students have been people who worked in the prehospital area inside of our Community. The aim of this paper is to determinate the possible impact of these Courses in the prehospital management of the pediatric trauma patient.

We reviewed the Pediatric Trauma Registry inputs of our hospital since January 1995 until December 2000. A total number of 2166 patients required admission in our hospital after the injuries. 495 patients which moved to our Institution by medical people and a special transport (ambulance/medical van) were enrolled. The patients were classified into two groups. In the first group were included the children admitted between 1995 to 1997 (group 1, n = 232), before we had applied our Courses and in the second group, the patients admitted between 1998 to 2000 (group II, n = 263), after The Pediatric Trauma Life Support Course was conducted. Both groups seems to be equal if we compare the age, sex and severity of the injuries. We analysed the infant orotracheal intubation in a coma patient, gastric intubation in the several trauma patient, vascular access and apply a semirigid cervical collar into a head injury. If we think that the application of these manouvers will be a good quality index of the management of these patients in the prehospital area, we compare the index of application of these variables according to the years before and after the Courses were imparted. For this pourpose we used the X2 test shows significant differences within both groups if p < 0.05.

All paramethers analyzed were better in group II than in group I (p < 0.05).

The results of this paper shows that the use of this program for the management of the pediatric trauma patient is going well and the assessment is doing better than few years before.