Oxford Desk Reference: Major Trauma

Jason Smith qualified in medicine from Newcastle University in 1992, and has since pursued a career as a Medical Officer in the Royal Navy. He underwent training in emergency medicine in London, Plymouth and Sydney, before being appointed as a Consultant in Derriford Hospital, Plymouth. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Academic Department of Military Emergency Medicine, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, and has extensive operational trauma experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. His current research interests include pain in emergency patients and the management of blast injuries.Ian Greaves qualified at the University of Birmingham Medical School in 1986. He trained in General Medicine and Emergency Medicine, joined the British Army and was appointed Consultant in 1997. He was appointed to Visiting Professor in Emergency Medicine at the University of Teesside in 2002. He is author or editor of several books and numerous chapters and papers on Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Pre-hospital Care. He is Chairman of the Research Committee, Member of the Speciality Advisory Board and Member of the Management Board of the Faculty of Pre-hospital Care.Keith Porter is a Consultant Trauma Surgeon and an Immediate Care Practitioner. Qualifying originally in London but doing much of his higher surgical training in the West Midlands, he was originally appointed Consultant Trauma Surgeon at the Birmingham Accident Hospital in 1986. With changes in hospital practice he is now Senior Trauma Surgeon at University Hospital Birmingham. He is also an active immediate care practitioner working both in urban practice in Birmingham and also in rural practice in Hereford & Worcester. He is the Medical Director of the West Midlands Central Accident Resuscitation (CARE) team and actively involved in both the delivery of pre-hospital care and education within the region.

• 1. Introduction ; 2. Pre-hospital emergency care ; 3. Initial assessment ; 4. The trauma team ; 5. Airway management in trauma ; 6. Assessment of breathing - thoracic injuries ; 7. Circulation and shock ; 8. Head injuries ; 9. The role of radiology in trauma ; 10. Tertiary survey ; 11. Spinal injuries ; 12. Abdominal trauma ; 13. Pelvic trauma ; 14. Limb injuries ; 15. Crush injuries ; 16. Vascular trauma ; 17. Eye trauma ; 18. Maxillofacial trauma ; 19. The role of damage control surgery in multi-trauma patients ; 20. Paediatric trauma ; 21. Trauma in pregnancy ; 22. Burn injuries ; 23. Penetrating trauma ; 24. Blast and ballistic injury ; 25. Chemical, biological, and radiation injuries ; 26. Critical care issues in trauma ; 27. Trauma retrieval ; 28. Psychological aspects of trauma ; 29. Rehabilitation after trauma ; 30. Commonly missed injuries ; 31. Research in trauma ; 32. Bariatric trauma ; 33. Major incidents

This book, to say the least, is an immense contribution to the effort of saving the lives trauma patients in hospitals and other health care centers worldwide. Preventive actions on a large-scale basis by governments would contribute to probably tens (or hundreds) of thousands more lives saved.