The prehospital treatment of pediatric trauma

Prehospital pediatric trauma care is an important part of the EMS system. Review of 458 pediatric ALS trauma responses over two years treated in an urban, tiered ALS system revealed a male predominance. Violence (gunshot, stab, or assault) accounted for 46% of injuries, followed by vehicular accidents (occupant or pedestrian), with 35%. Important ALS resuscitation interventions were commonly performed en route, with a high degree of success (IVs = 93%, intubation = 79%), and did not greatly prolong field times (9 min BLS vs 11.7 min ALS). ALS procedure success rates and field times reported here are lower than previously described. Benchmark standards for the prehospital care of pediatric trauma are proposed.