Physical trauma, caused by incidents such as traffic accidents and burns, requires hospital treatment including surgery and rehabilitation. Immediate concerns include blood loss, brain damage, respiratory failure, and pain. Healthcare providers must act quickly to evaluate and care for patients, including identifying potential complications and secondary injuries. Trauma care providers must also learn how to work with law enforcement and other emergency services and familiarize themselves with mass trauma protocols.
Physical trauma is a physical injury that is serious and could endanger the life of a patient. The most common causes of physical trauma include traffic accidents, burns, drownings, explosions, crush injuries and severe beatings. Treatment for physical trauma usually has to take place in a hospital setting and can include surgery and lengthy rehabilitation. The prognosis varies depending on the extent of the injuries, the health of the patient at the time of the injury, and how quickly treatment is given.
There are a number of concerns about physical trauma. Immediate problems can include blood loss, brain damage, respiratory failure, and severe pain. Patients should be rapidly evaluated to identify their lesions and determine which lesions are more serious. They also need to be supported if they are unstable with treatments such as intravenous fluids and blood transfusions to manage the blood loss, ventilation if they cannot breathe on their own, and bandages to stop or slow the bleeding.
A physical trauma workup also includes evaluations for potential complications and secondary injuries. This can include neurological screening to identify signs of injury to the brain, as brain damage isn’t always immediately obvious, along with medical imaging studies to look for internal bleeding, undiagnosed fractures, and other injuries that could be dangerous if left untreated. Wounds also need to be thoroughly cleaned to remove contaminants from the scene, with the aim of reducing infection, and patients can be given prophylactic antibiotics and other medications to prevent inflammation and infection.
Hospitals handle physical trauma in emergency rooms and trauma units. Care teams can include nurses, doctors, and a variety of medical specialists who can be consulted to address specific issues such as fractures and organ damage. Psychologists and rehabilitation professionals also commonly spend time with trauma patients to identify issues that will need to be addressed once the patient is stable and in recovery.
Healthcare providers who specialize in trauma care include paramedics, emergency room nurses, and trauma surgeons. These professionals must be able to act quickly to evaluate and care for a patient, sometimes in chaotic and upsetting situations. Training for individuals interested in providing trauma care is provided in a variety of settings to accustom individuals to working in mixed environments. In addition to receiving medical training, trauma care providers must also learn how to work with law enforcement and other emergency services and must familiarize themselves with mass trauma protocols, such as plans for handling terrorist attacks, collapse of buildings and other emergencies.
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