Time is the Enemy Mortality in Trauma Patients with Hemorrhage from Torso Injury Occurs Long Before the Golden Hour

The authors reviewed data from 42,135 records with Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) for body regions 4 (Thorax) and 5 (Abdomen) from the National Trauma Database to examine the impact of prehospital time and torso injury severity on survival. They found a “precipitous rise” in patient mortality for patients with non-compressible torso hemorrhage (AIS = 4) and prehospital times >30 min. Rapid transport to trauma centers should be a priority whenever severe torso injury is recognized or suspected.