[Problematic care for a trauma patient with morbid obesity]

A 33-year-old woman was trapped in a car following an accident. Because of her size (241 kg; BMI: 85 kg/m2) it was difficult to free, transport, examine and treat her. A few days after she had been discharged with a knee injury, she was again admitted for pneumonia. Partly as a result of para-infectious rhabdomyolysis, she died 5 days later. More and more people in The Netherlands are overweight, and more and more often to an extreme degree. Complicated accident kinetics, problems with diagnosis and treatment, comorbidity and an increased risk of complications in obese patients contribute to the poorer prognosis following blunt trauma. It is therefore practically impossible to give obese patients the usual care according to the protocol. Adaptations like positioning in the anti-Trendelenburg, left lateral-tilt position, as well as bigger and stronger equipment, may improve the care of trauma patients with morbid obesity.