Critical Care Considerations in the Management of Trauma Patient after Initial Resuscitation

Abstract

Trauma affects hundreds of thousands of individuals and costs billions in direct expenditures and indirect losses. Trauma care has improved over the past 20 years, by improvement in trauma systems, assessment, triage, resuscitation and emergency care. Care of the trauma patient does not end in the operating or resuscitation room. The patient presenting to the intensive care unit (ICU) following initial resuscitation may be far from stability with ongoing hemorrhage, resuscitation needs, or injuries still requiring definitive repair. The intensive care personnel must understand the respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, and immunologic consequences of trauma resuscitation in order to evaluate the ongoing resuscitative needs of the patient and target the potential complications, such as abdominal compartment syndrome, and metabolic consequences subsequent to post-trauma resuscitation. Key words: Considerations in the Management of Trauma Patient after Initial Resuscitation