In this episode, Steve, Dan, and Holly are back in the studio as Holly leads the team through an in-depth discussion on the trauma death triad (diamond). They discuss each component – hypothermia, acidosis, coagulation – and that tricky final component that plays a role in all three, calcium. Holly provides a scientific breakdown of each component, and then the team discusses the practical implications of each component in the “real-life” management of a trauma patient in the field.  Holly also touches on some longer-term implications of trauma management for those providers who end up on scene with a patient for longer than they bargained for or who provide an interfacility transfer for a patient a few days after their initial incident.

This episode provides helpful insight for all providers in both the initial and ongoing assessments of any patient who has experienced a massive trauma, and what we can do in the field to mitigate mortality and positively impact their overall outcomes.

References

See Holly’s slides below!

Trauma Death Triad_PDF