What’s On The Trauma Professional’s Blog?

Trauma surgeons often rely on consultants to assist in the care of their patients. Orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons are among the most frequent consultants, but a variety of other surgical and medical specialists may be needed. I have found that providing a set of guidelines to consultants helps ensure quality... Read more

In US Level I and Level II trauma centers, the trauma surgeons must typically stay in the hospital to be ready for incoming major trauma patients. But most of our specialty colleagues have the luxury of sleeping at home. They are immediately available when needed, and we know it. One... Read more

I fielded some recent questions on some of the specifics of applying the Nelson score for stratifying nonsurgical admissions. I’m re-posting my original article on the Nelson score, with clarifications to some common questions. All trauma centers admit some of their patients to nonsurgical services. This usually occurs when patients... Read more

Nausea and vomiting are common problems in trauma patients, particularly those in a trauma activation. Inciting factors include pain, a full stomach from food eaten before the event or blood swallowed after, or a reaction to pain medications. For years, trauma professionals reached for the lowly gastric tube to evacuate... Read more

In my previous post, I discussed the evils of undertriage and how we can use registry tools to decrease the number of charts reviewed to identify this problematic issue. Now, I’ll move to the opposite extreme: overtriage. Overtriage is defined as summoning the trauma team when a patient does not... Read more

This two-part post will examine trauma activation triage tools. The type of triage I am discussing is not prehospital triage. In this case, it involves ensuring that a trauma activation occurs appropriately and that the trauma resuscitation team evaluates the right patients. The Cribari grid was the mainstay for years,... Read more

Yes, I’ve been writing this blog for sixteen years! It continues to be a place where I can write about topics that I am curious about, learn something new, or share things I find very interesting. Here’s to yet another year of fun and learning! Michael... Read more