Background

Medical imaging plays a critical role in the rapid diagnosis, effective triage, and management of complex poly-trauma patients. High quality medical imaging can be accomplished successfully in a deployed or wartime setting. Due to advances in aggressive resuscitation techniques and the speed of the latest generation Computed Tomography (CT) scanners (64-detector and beyond), rapid trauma scans utilizing CT and Ultrasound (US) imaging can routinely be performed prior to taking the patient to the operating room potentially providing the trauma team with lifesaving information. This Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) provides an overview of the imaging modalities available in austere settings, the equipment required, and the role that each plays in triaging and diagnosis of the acutely injured poly-trauma patients.

Given the catastrophic injuries sustained by high-energy mechanisms, including high velocity ballistic trauma and blast injuries often seen during the current conflict, rapid diagnosis and treatment is required to optimally treat these critically injured patients. Advances in aggressive resuscitation techniques and the speed of the latest generation Computed Tomography (CT) scanners (64-detector and beyond), rapid trauma scans utilizing CT and Ultrasound (US) imaging routinely allows for imaging to be performed prior to taking the patient to the operating room potentially providing the trauma team with lifesaving information.

Imaging has become a critical component of the care of any patient in the age of modern medicine. The goal of this CPG is to provide guidelines and recommendations for the optimum integration of high quality diagnostic imaging into the treatment and management of casualties with multiple mechanisms of traumatic injuries and how to facilitate the transfer of this information with the patient across the continuum of care.