Polytrauma in children

Abstract

Trauma is still the most common cause of mortality in children, even in countries with the most advanced medical services. Severe head injury carries a high morbidity and mortality, whether isolated or in association with other trauma. However, a fatal outcome is usually the consequence of combinations of injuries. We define real polytrauma as two or more system injuries, involved at the same time endangering life as a result of one single or a combination of several injuries. Multiple trauma is always more than the sum of the single injuries; it should be considered as a systemic disease. Orthopaedic injuries account for a high proportion of the damage incurred by the polytraumatized child but are rarely life-threatening in their own right [1]. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2010.