Introduction: Successful management of emergency patients with multiple trauma in the hospital resuscitation room depends on the immediate diagnosis and rapid treatment of the most life-threatening injuries. In order to reduce the time spent in the resuscitation room, an in-hospital. algorithm was developed in an interdisciplinary team approach with respect to local structures. The aim of the study was to anatyse whether this algorithm affects the interval between hospital admission and the completion of diagnostic procedures and the start of life-saving interventions. Moreover, in-hospital. mortality was investigated before and after the algorithm was introduced. Material and methods: In this prospective study, all consecutive trauma patients in the resuscitation room were investigated before (group 1, 01 /04-10/04) and after (group 11, 01 /05-11/05) introduction of the algorithm. The times between hospitaladmission and the end of the diagnostic procedures (ultrasound [sono], chest X-ray [CF], and cranial computed tomography [CCT]), and between hospital admission and the start of tife-saving interventions were registered and in-hospital mortality analysed. Results: In the study period, 170 patients in group I and 199 patients in group II were investigated. Injury severity score (ISS) were comparable between the two groups. The intervals between admission and completion of diagnostic procedures were significantly tower after the algorithm was introduced (mean +/- S.D.): sono (11 +/- 110min versus 7 +/- 6min, p < 0.05), CF (21 +/- 12min versus 12 +/- 9min, p < 0.01), and CCT (55 +/- 127 min versus 32 +/- 14 min, p < 0.01). Moreover, the interval to the start of tife-saving interventions was significantly shorter (126 +/- 90 min versus 51 +/- 20 min, p < 0.01). After introducing the algorithm, in-hospitat mortality was reduced significantly from 33.3% to 16.7% (p < 0.05) in the most severely injured patients (ISS > 25). Conclusion: The introduction of an algorithm for early management of emergency patients significantly reduced the time spent in the resuscitation room. The periods to completion of sono, CF, and CCT, respectively, and the start of life-saving interventions were significantly shorter after introduction of the algorithm. Moreover, introduction of the algorithm reduced mortality in the most severely injured patients. Although further investigations are needed to evaluate the effects of the Heidelberg treatment algorithm in terms of outcome and mortality, the time reduction in the resuscitation room seems to be beneficial. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
