The Golden Hour was first coined by R. Adams Cowley to emphasize the importance of prompt and efficient management of the acutely injured patient. Advances in both resuscitation and diagnosis have given providers a host of new procedural and imaging options and have resulted in improved trauma care at centers of all levels.
BEYOND ADVANCED TRAUMA LIFE SUPPORT: INITIAL RESUSCITATION IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
The Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure management taught by Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS)1 is an effective framework for initial evaluation and management of the injured patient and has been demonstrated to increase efficiency and quality of care.2 As any experienced provider knows, in a well-staffed trauma center, these processes can be run in parallel and their order modified for certain exceptional cases. When performed in full, they represent a complete initial evaluation of the injured patient in an orderly and efficient manner (Box 1).
