Management of Liver Injuries: The Panamerican Trauma Society 2018 Consensus Guidelines

Objective: The objective of this guideline is to create a framework and recommendations for best practice management of traumatic liver injuries in trauma patients cared for by surgeons in the Americas. The guidelines presented are based on an extensive literature review including international studies and data as well as in-depth consensus discussions at the 2018 Panamerican Trauma Society Liver Trauma Consensus session. Materials and methods: A PubMed literature review was performed including all relevant prospective, retrospective, meta-analysis studies, and guideline manuscripts between 1995 and 2018. Expert presentations, literature review, and guideline proposal discussions were completed at the liver trauma consensus session at the annual Panamerican Trauma Society meeting in Cartagena, Colombia 2018. Results: The literature search revealed 32 relevant studies and manuscript as a foundation for the Panamerican Trauma Society Liver Trauma Management Guidelines. Expert discussions at the liver trauma consensus sessions added important aspects unique to clinical practice in rural and urban trauma centers in Latin American countries. The developed guidelines may contribute to a more standardized and evidence-based approach to the management of patients with liver trauma in the Americas. Conclusion: Liver trauma consensus sessions and detailed literature review were effective in completing a Panamerican Trauma Society consensus guidelines manuscript for the management of patients with liver trauma. The guidelines may assist physicians in the provision of a standard and effective approach to the management of patients with liver trauma across the Americas with the intent to improve outcomes and outcomes measurement.