A surprising finding at first glance, but several reasons could explain it.
The Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course, instituted in the U.S. in 1978, is now taught in 50 countries. In a prospective observational study, researchers examined the effect of physician's ATLS certification on mortality among trauma patients in Greece in 2005 and 2006. Data were obtained from a countrywide trauma registry; approximately 40% of hospitals that receive trauma patients participated.
Of 8862 patients (69% men), most were treated by general surgeons (68%) or orthopedists (25%); overall, 18% were treated by ATLS-certified physicians. Multivariate analysis of the 186 patients who died after hospital arrival demonstrated that older age, higher injury severity score (ISS), lower Glasgow Coma Scale score, injury that occurred i…