Complications of trauma: the nurse's role in prevention

Trauma is the leading cause of death in the United States for persons less than 40 years of age. It is the fourth leading cause of death in persons of all ages. Over 60 million injuries occur annually, therefore multiply injured patients represent a large portion of hospital admissions (Cordona, Hurd, Mason, et al., 1994; Geerts, Code, Jay, et al., 1994) Due to the complexity of patient care, and the potential for complications, nurses caring for these patients must be knowledgeable of their role in the patient's management and recovery. The following case scenario represents a typical multiply-injured patient and discusses common potential complications and how the nurse can intervene to prevent these complications from occurring.