Major trauma in scotland: development and progress over a decade

Background: Major trauma (defined as injury severity score >15) remains a major public health issue. Trauma mortality in Scotland has decreased overtime, but functional outcome following trauma is poorly understood. Better knowledge of post-trauma morbidity could potentially influence acute management and rehabilitation. Individual aspects of the trauma care process, from prehospital care, through emergency department (ED) resuscitation, to definitive care, all play crucial roles in optimising outcome from major trauma. Objective: Using seven studies and various methodologies, this thesis describes progress in trauma management in Scotland over the last decade, including epidemiology, prehospital care, emergency department care and functional outcome