Comparing Advanced Trauma Life Support Training to Standard Care for Adult Trauma Patients in Indian Hospitals

What this Trial Is About

Trauma is a major global health concern, and many training programs aim to improve how doctors initially manage trauma patients. Among these, the Advanced Trauma Life Support ATLS course is the most widely used, having trained over one million physicians worldwide. However, no controlled trials have yet shown whether ATLS improves patient outcomes, highlighting the need for research to compare ATLS training with standard care in adult trauma patients. The study compares the effects of ATLS training with standard care in hospitals in India that treat adult trauma patients. The ATLS intervention involves a 2.5-day course teaching a standardized approach to trauma care, including primary and secondary surveys, resuscitation, triage, and transfers. Physicians in the experimental group receive this accredited training, while the standard care group consists of usual trauma management by medical and surgical residents without specialized team approaches. Participants are adult trauma patients aged 15 years and older who present to participating emergency departments within 48 hours of injury and are admitted or transferred for admission. Researchers will collect routine hospital data and follow patients for 30 days after emergency department arrival to measure outcomes, focusing primarily on in-hospital mortality. The study uses an opt-out consent process for routine data and obtains informed consent for additional follow-up. Participation may last through hospital stay and 30-day post-arrival monitoring.

Effects of Advanced Trauma Life Support® on Adult Trauma Patient Outcomes