Mohammad A, Branicki F, Abu-Zidan FM, et al.
World journal of surgery. Date of publication 2014 Feb 1;volume 38(2):322-9.
1. World J Surg. 2014 Feb;38(2):322-9. doi: 10.1007/s00268-013-2294-0.
Educational and clinical impact of Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) courses: a
systematic review.
Mohammad A(1), Branicki F, Abu-Zidan FM.
Author information:
(1)Trauma Group, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences,
United Arab Emirates University, PO Box 17666, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
BACKGROUND: We aimed to systematically review the literature on the educational
impact of Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) courses and their effects on death
rates of multiple trauma patients.
METHODS: All Medline, Pubmed, and the Cochrane Library English articles on the
educational impact of ATLS courses and their effects on trauma mortality for the
period 1966-2012 were studied. All original articles written in English were
included. Surveys, reviews, editorials/letters, and other trauma courses or
models different from the ATLS course were excluded. Articles were critically
evaluated regarding study research design, statistical analysis, outcome, and
quality and level of evidence.
RESULTS: A total of 384 articles were found in the search. Of these, 104 relevant
articles were read; 23 met the selection criteria and were critically analyzed.
Ten original articles reported studies on the impact of ATLS on cognitive and
clinical skills, six articles addressed the attrition of skills gained through
ATLS training, and seven articles addressed the effects of ATLS on trauma
mortality. There is level I evidence that ATLS significantly improves the
knowledge of participants managing multiple trauma patients, their clinical
skills, and their organization and priority approaches. There is level II-1
evidence that knowledge and skills gained through ATLS participation decline
after 6 months, with a maximum decline after 2 years. Organization and priority
skills, however, are kept for up to 8 years following ATLS. Strong evidence
showing that ATLS training reduces morbidity and mortality in trauma patients is
still lacking.
CONCLUSIONS: It is highly recommended that ATLS courses should be taught for all
doctors who are involved in the management of multiple trauma patients. Future
studies are required to properly evaluate the impact of ATLS training on trauma
death rates and disability.
DOI: 10.1007/s00268-013-2294-0
PMID: 24136720 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
