The Management of Pediatric Polytrauma: Review

Polytrauma is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in both developed and developing countries. The primary goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview on current knowledge in the management of pediatric polytrauma patients (PPPs). A database review was con- ducted based on a search in the Embase, Medline OVID-SP, Web of Science, Cochrane central, and Pubmed databases. Only studies with “paediatric population” and “polytrauma” as criteria were included. A total of 3310 citations were retrieved. Of these, 3271 were excluded after screening, based on title and abstract. The full texts of 39 articles were assessed; further selection left 25 articles to be included in this review. The most crucial point in the management of PPPs is preparedness of the staff and an emergency room furnished with age-appropriate drugs and equipment combined with a systemic approach.