Chest trauma: Strategy of care in 2020

Blunt chest trauma remains an issue in the acute care settings, potentially leading to secondary respiratory complications depending on the severity of injuries and the patient's condition. In blunt chest trauma patients with no immediate life-threatening injuries, implementation of clinical pathways and multidisciplinary interventions such as effective analgesia, respiratory care and surgical fixation may reduce the rate of secondary respiratory complications and improve patient outcomes. In the emergency settings, risk stratification is thus of paramount importance to prevent under-triage of patients who may benefit from this prophylactic resource-consuming strategy.