Impact of trauma societies on the clinical care of polytrauma patients.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma societies have an influence on the management and outcome of polytrauma. Its contributions include setting up standard definitions, trauma registries, evidence-based medicine guidelines, and the creation of educational tools such as specific courses of trauma care and decision-making.
METHODS: Literature and web-based search of definitions and available information.
RESULTS: The history of and accomplishments of trauma societies in the above-mentioned domains are reviewed, including the major trauma registries (Major Trauma Outcome Study, National Trauma Data Bank, The American Pediatric Surgical Association, the American Burn Association trauma, and the German Trauma Society trauma registries). Several learned societies in the field of trauma have created recommendations and/or guidelines concerning polytrauma (the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, The Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the German Trauma Society, Brain Trauma Foundation, and the Essential Trauma Care (EsTC) Guidelines). Several practical, hands-on courses and scoring systems for improving the quality of management of polytrauma patients have been founded and implemented in the past 35 years, including the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS(®)) Course of the American College of Surgeons, the Definitive Surgical Trauma Care (DSTC(TM)) Course, the National Trauma Management Course (NTMC(TM) Course,) the Advanced Trauma Operative Management (ATOM) Course, and the European Trauma Course (ETC).
CONCLUSIONS: Trauma and emergency care societies have made an elaborate, substantial contribution by developing trauma registries and creating specific guidelines courses on trauma care and decision-making.