Information
- High-velocity trauma is the primary cause of death in the 18- to 44-year age group worldwide.
- The cost to the healthcare system for blunt trauma is greater than any other disease.
- There is no consensus definition, but the polytrauma patient can be defined as follows:
- Injury severity score (ISS) >18
- Hemodynamic instability or coagulopathy present on admission
- More than one system involvement: central nervous system, pulmonary, abdominal, musculoskeletal, etc.