![]() ![]() Parents, who's son died in a car accident, react while holding his photo at their home in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, on December 18, 2018.Īlthough the overall trauma case volume-especially due to road traffic accidents-decreased during lockdowns, injuries due to road traffic accidents may, in some instances, have been of higher severity. ![]() A global review indicated that there was a worldwide reduction of between 20.3 percent and 84.6 percent in trauma patients compared to a pre-COVID control period. The reduction in traumatic injuries did not, however, translate to reductions in the severity and kinds of injuries seen. In turn, the need for both acute trauma care and for longer term rehabilitation services did not decrease, and it has remained critical throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 Lockdowns and Traffic Accidentsĭuring the COVID pandemic, the world initially witnessed a dip in the volume of injuries presenting to emergency departments-a phenomenon linked to restricted travel. In much of the world, road traffic accident victims and others suffering life-threatening injuries are not able to receive essential surgical care-including trauma, surgery and anesthesia care- within an hour, or even many hours, following an accident. The window of opportunity for a chance at survival is narrow for a severely injured patient. Road traffic and other injuries kill more people every year than HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Though injury-related deaths occur everywhere, the overwhelming majority happen in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where emergency communication systems and health care are often limited. Specialized and timely trauma care in LMICs is critical, though, to reducing permanent, long-term disability and deaths. The "golden hour" is now more scientifically referred to as the "resuscitative hour." There is a crucial period immediately after an injury when life-saving medical or surgical intervention can offer the highest chance of survivalĪlthough there is little scientific basis for this traditional one-hour rule, as many trauma care providers note, trauma care is time-dependent and a prompt response can be a matter of life and death. That concept of a critical window of perfect sunlight was co-opted by emergency medical providers to refer to the crucial period of time immediately after an injury when appropriate life-saving medical or surgical intervention can offer the highest chance of survival for a traumatically injured patient. The term's origins lie in photography and reference the first hour of light after the sun rises and the last hour of light before sunset. Adam Cowley, a U.S. military surgeon popularized the term "golden hour," words often used in trauma and emergency medicine settings. "There is a golden hour between life and death." ![]()
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