Imaging in polytrauma - Principles and current concepts.

Imaging forms a crucial component in reducing mortality of polytraumatized patients by aiding appropriate diagnosis and guiding the emergency and definitive treatment. With the exponential expansion in the radiological armamentarium and introduction of protocols like Extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (EFAST) and Whole body Computed tomography (WBCT), the role of imaging has considerably increased. Emergency imaging protocols should be done for rapid diagnosis of life-threatening injuries allowing simultaneous evaluation and resuscitation. Subsequent comprehensive imaging is essential to diagnose the often clinically missed injuries to reduce the overall morbidity. Imaging protocols must adapt to the patient's clinical scenario, which can be dynamically changing. Each trauma team should devise clear guidelines, protocols, and algorithms suitable for their center depending on the local availability of types of equipment and expertise. Radiologists must efficiently communicate and adopt patient-centered approach to ensure early appropriate care to these severely injured patients. Future research should involve multicentre studies to formulate the most appropriate imaging protocol in polytrauma to increase diagnostic accuracy and thereby reduce patient mortality.