Roles of Care and Thoracic Injury

Each role of care has unique approaches to the management of thoracic trauma:

- Role 1: The focus is treatment or stabilization of immediate life-threatening thoracic injuries, such as airway obstruction, and tension pneumothorax. Follow the Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines for treatment of chest trauma.5
- Role 2: Care is focused on resuscitation and damage control surgical procedures. Tube thoracostomy placement is a critical diagnostic and therapeutic intervention. Anterolateral thoracotomy or sternotomy may be required for acutely bleeding patients.
- Role 3: Definitive surgical treatment should be attempted for most injuries, with the possible exception of complex tracheobronchial or great vessel injuries.
- Role 4: Definitive therapy.

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