Evidence brief
Advanced Trauma Life Support
Standardized approach to trauma patient assessment
Primary survey: Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure
Hemorrhage control as priority in circulation
Damage control resuscitation principles
Secondary survey after primary issues addressed
ATLS provides the universal framework for trauma assessment and resuscitation. All orthopaedic surgeons must be familiar with these principles as part of the trauma team.
ATLS is assumed knowledge for trauma viva. Be prepared to discuss your role in the trauma team, primary survey findings that would concern you, and when musculoskeletal injuries take priority (open fractures, mangled extremity, pelvic ring disruption with hemorrhage).
American College of Surgeons. ATLS Advanced Trauma Life Support Student Course Manual. 10th ed. Chicago: ACS; 2018.
Level V
Expert opinion or mechanism-based reasoning