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A correction for this article has been published in Critical Care 2007, 11:414


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Management of bleeding following major trauma: a European guideline

Donat R Spahn1 email, Vladimir Cerny2 email, Timothy J Coats3 email, Jacques Duranteau4 email, Enrique Fernández-Mondéjar5 email, Giovanni Gordini6 email, Philip F Stahel7 email, Beverley J Hunt8 email, Radko Komadina9 email, Edmund Neugebauer10 email, Yves Ozier11 email, Louis Riddez12 email, Arthur Schultz13 email, Jean-Louis Vincent14 email and Rolf Rossaint15 email

1Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospital Zurich, Rämistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland

2Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Hradec Králové, Sokolska 581, 50005 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

3Leicester Royal Infirmary, Accident and Emergency Department, Infirmary Square, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK

4Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, University of Paris XI Faculté de Médecine Paris-Sud, 63 rue Gabriel Péri, 94276 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France

5Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, ctra de Jaén s/n, 18013 Granada, Spain

6Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Ospedale Maggiore, Largo Nigrisoli 2, 40100 Bologna, Italy

7Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Denver Health Medical Center, University of Colorado Medical School, 777 Bannock Street, Denver, CO 80204, USA

8Departments of Haematology, Pathology and Rheumatology, Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation Trust, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EH, UK

9Department of Traumatology, General and Teaching Hospital Celje, 3000 Celje, Slovenia

10Institute for Research in Operative Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke, Ostmerheimerstrasse 200, 51109 Köln (Merheim), Germany

11Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Université René Descartes Paris 5, AP-HP, Hopital Cochin, 27 rue du Fbg Saint-Jacques, 75014 Paris, France

12Department of Surgery and Trauma, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Solna, Sweden

13Ludwig-Boltzmann-Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Donaueschingenstrasse 13, 1200 Vienna, Austria

14Department of Intensive Care, Erasme Hospital, University of Brussels, Belgium, route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium

15Department of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany

author email corresponding author email

Critical Care 2007, 11:R17doi:10.1186/cc5686

Published: 13 February 2007


See related commentary by Minei, http://ccforum.com/content/11/2/128

Abstract

Introduction

Evidence-based recommendations can be made with respect to many aspects of the acute management of the bleeding trauma patient, which when implemented may lead to improved patient outcomes.

Methods

The multidisciplinary Task Force for Advanced Bleeding Care in Trauma was formed in 2005 with the aim of developing guidelines for the management of bleeding following severe injury. Recommendations were formulated using a nominal group process and the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) hierarchy of evidence and were based on a systematic review of published literature.

Results

Key recommendations include the following: The time elapsed between injury and operation should be minimised for patients in need of urgent surgical bleeding control, and patients presenting with haemorrhagic shock and an identified source of bleeding should undergo immediate surgical bleeding control unless initial resuscitation measures are successful. A damage control surgical approach is essential in the severely injured patient. Pelvic ring disruptions should be closed and stabilised, followed by appropriate angiographic embolisation or surgical bleeding control, including packing. Patients presenting with haemorrhagic shock and an unidentified source of bleeding should undergo immediate further assessment as appropriate using focused sonography, computed tomography, serum lactate, and/or base deficit measurements. This guideline also reviews appropriate physiological targets and suggested use and dosing of blood products, pharmacological agents, and coagulation factor replacement in the bleeding trauma patient.

Conclusion

A multidisciplinary approach to the management of the bleeding trauma patient will help create circumstances in which optimal care can be provided. By their very nature, these guidelines reflect the current state-of-the-art and will need to be updated and revised as important new evidence becomes available.


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