[Composition of trauma room teams : Reality experienced in 12 transregional trauma centers]

The provision of specialized trauma teams for the care of severely injured patients is mandatory according to the requirements of the S3 guidelines polytrauma and the composition is determined by the White Book Medical Care of the Severely Injured (Weißbuch Schwerverletztenversorgung). In each level of care the basic resuscitation room team is composed of four disciplines: orthopedics and trauma surgery, anesthesia, radiology and emergency medicine in the emergency department.

A prospective, multicenter observational study was conducted in 12 supraregional trauma centers in Germany and Switzerland, where a total of 3753 patients were treated in the emergency department following accidents. Amongst them 964 patients (26%) were treated after prior trauma team activation.

In 94.7% of the trauma room care instances all 4 required disciplines were present, with an average of 6.6 individuals involved in the trauma room care. The 48‑h mortality rate was 3% among patients receiving trauma room care. In all deceased patients, all four disciplines were present during the trauma room care. At least one or more high-risk criteria for serious injuries were present in 40.8% of the patients. In these cases, a complete team consisting of all 4 disciplines was involved in 97.7% of the care instances.

In nearly 98% of cases where high-risk criteria for serious injuries (category A activation criteria) all 4 required disciplines were present in the trauma room for patient care. This was associated with an average resource commitment of 6.6 individuals. The absence of one or more disciplines in trauma room care does not appear to significantly affect early mortality in the severely injured.