Abstract
Purpose of Review
This review highlights the roles and responsibilities of anesthesiologists in the management of critically ill trauma patients in different countries around the world. It provides a summary of the scope of practice of different branches of anesthesiology that are involved in the resuscitation of trauma patients.
Recent Findings
The reduced indication for operative intervention in trauma along with the increasing role for anesthesia in managing trauma patients outside the operating room has created a demand for trauma acute care anesthesiologists. The leading obstacle to more prevalent offsite trauma anesthesia personnel is the lack of formal subspecialty training programs and credentialing requirements of different medical societies.
Summary
Trauma anesthesiologists act as a resource for anesthesiologists in the operating room and trauma patients during the trauma care pathway including prehospital transport, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO service, trauma team both civilian and military, and complicated pain management.
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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
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Ryan Perlman, Jessie Lo, Vida Zhang, Gabriele Baldini, Alexander Amir, and Joseph Po declare they have no conflict of interest. The authors do not have any potential conflicts of interest to disclose.
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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Anesthesia for Trauma
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Perlman, R., Lo, J., Po, J. et al. Trauma and the Anesthesiologist: an International Perspective. Curr Anesthesiol Rep 12, 258–265 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-021-00507-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-021-00507-9