I’m taking the upcoming the Pediatric Trauma Life Support Course at IU Health’s Emergency Response Training Institute. And these are excerpts
The Course uses the textbook, Pediatric Trauma Life Support For Prehospital Care Providers, 3rd Edition, 2009. There is a free 2017 online update PDF.
After the excerpts below I’ve included some additional quick review posts in Additional Resources.
Here are excerpts from Chapter 1:
Trauma remains the leading cause of death and disability for children over the age of one year. Carefully survey the scene and assess the child for “hidden” injuries.
The team approach to pediatric trauma is essential. The following is an example of an effective prehospital team, and applies to pediatric as well as adult care:
The Team Leader assesses the scene, establishes a rapport with the child and family, performs an initial assessment for life-threatening injuries, makes decisions on patient care guided by the medical direction physician or written protocol, and assessment, and interventions to the hospital.
Rescuer 2 stabilizes the cervical spine and performs airway maneuvers and management as directed by the Team Leader.
Rescuer 3 selects the appropriate equipment and initiates interventions as directed by the Team leader,
A well-organized team [following a well rehearsed script] gives every pediatric patient the maximum chance for survival. Assess every trauma patient, whether an injured bicyclist or an ejected MVC patient, in the same manner after any traumatic event. If assessment is performed in the same way every time, it is less likely that a life-threatening injury will be undetected. Remember that “practice makes perfect.” Training and retraining serves to reinforce this concept of the confident approach.
Additional Resources:
(1) Pediatric Trauma – Awesome Help From Emergency Medicine Cases
Posted on April 20, 2018 by Tom Wade MD
