We need to include bystander first aid in trauma research

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Trauma Surgery
• Public Health

Background:

• The chain of survival concept, successful in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), is applied to trauma care.
• Bystander first aid significantly improves OHCA outcomes, but this link is neglected in trauma research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the disparity in research focus between bystander first aid in OHCA and trauma.
• To advocate for increased research and standardized reporting of bystander interventions in trauma care.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of research efforts and reporting templates (Utstein) in OHCA and trauma.
• Identification of potential bystander interventions in trauma: open airway, bleeding control, hypothermia prevention.

Main Results:

• OHCA research extensively covers bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), improving survival rates.
• Trauma research lacks data on bystander first aid's impact, despite its inclusion in the trauma chain of survival.

Conclusions:

• The first link of the trauma chain of survival (bystander first aid) is the weakest due to insufficient research.
• The trauma research community must enhance studies on bystander first aid or reconsider its inclusion in the survival chain.