Prehospital Trauma Compendium: Evaluation and Management of Suspected Pelvis Fractures - An NAEMSP Position Statement and Resource Document.

Abstract

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) clinicians may encounter trauma patients with major pelvic fractures from multiple mechanisms of injury. In-hospital evidence that stabilization of pelvic fractures leads to improved patient outcomes has been extrapolated to promote the use of pelvic stabilization interventions by EMS clinicians in the prehospital setting. However, there are significant challenges in accurately identifying pelvic fractures in the field, and the clinical benefit of prehospital pelvic stabilizing interventions with use of pelvic circumferential compression devices (PCCDs) is questionable. Therefore, NAEMSP conducted a structured review of the literature to develop evidence-guided recommendations for the prehospital management of suspected pelvic fractures.