Guidelines for Essential Trauma Care: Second Edition (2026)

Injury is a major cause of death and disability globally, with the highest burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Strengthening the organization and planning for trauma care (care of the injured) can improve care and lower mortality. In 2004, the International Association for Trauma Surgery and Intensive Care (IATSIC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) co-published the Guidelines for Essential Trauma Care (EsTC). The goals of the Guidelines for EsTC were to promote affordable and achievable standards for trauma care resources that could realistically be achievable at health care facilities anywhere in the world, even in the lowest-income settings. By so doing, IATSIC and WHO hoped to strengthen trauma care services globally, especially in LMICs. Since its publication in 2004, the Guidelines for EsTC have been extensively cited. More importantly, there have been documented, published examples of implementation of the Guidelines in 48 countries worldwide, spanning all economic levels from low-income to high-income countries. The current publication represents the first update and revision of the Guidelines for EsTC. As with the first edition, the current edition contains resource tables listing human resources (skills, training, staffing) and physical resources (equipment and supplies) that should be available at varying health care facilities in all countries, ranging from clinics to first-level hospitals to second-level hospitals to tertiary hospitals. These resource tables cover the breadth of trauma care, including initial management and resuscitation to definitive care of most major injuries. As with the original version, these resource tables are meant to be flexible to allow adjustments as needed to tailor them based on local health care system resources and capabilities. The Guidelines focus on fixed facilities, as other publications address prehospital care.