Effects of Advanced Trauma Life Support® training compared to standard care on adult trauma patient outcomes
Background
- Most deaths from trauma occur within the first 24-48 hours. Most preventable trauma deaths are caused by clinical judgement errors during initial resuscitation or early care, including airway management and haemorrhage control.
- The proprietary Advanced Trauma Life Support® (ATLS®) is the most established trauma life support training program.
Aims
Compare the effects of ATLS® training with standard care on outcomes in adult trauma patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including recovery before discharge and functional outcomes at and after discharge such as pain, mobility and self-care activities.
Methods
- This is a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial. All clusters (hospitals) will transition through three phases: a standard care phase; transition phase during which the training is delivered; and an intervention phase.
- Adult trauma patients presenting to the emergency departments of 30 hospitals will be recruited for the study. The total sample size will include 4,320 patients across these hospitals.
Impacts
- Due to its large sample size and geographical representativeness, the study will produce robust evidence comparing ATLS® training to standard care in adult trauma patients, which will enhance our understanding and inform best practices in trauma care.
- Evidence from this study could influence healthcare guidelines and lead to improvements and updates in the training curriculum, enhancing its effectiveness in LMICs.
- By its design and implementation, this study could improve the early management of trauma patients in participating hospitals by providing a structured framework for assessment and treatment.
Current status
The study has been registered into CTRI. Currently study is in pre-initiation phase.
Principal Investigator
Dr Martin Gerdin Wärnberg
Regional Coordinating Centre-Chief Investigator
Dr. Nobhojit Roy
Prof. Vivekanand Jha
Partners
The George Institute for Global Health
Karolinska Institutet
Funders
The George Institute for Global Health
Swedish Research Council