Often in the medical history of a person who fell from a decent height or got into a car accident, one can observe a term such as polytrauma. What is it and why is it so important to provide first aid to a patient? This is what will be discussed in the article. We will also learn how a passerby can save the life of a car accident victim, as well as what diagnostic and treatment methods are used in this case.
Description
Two or more traumatic injuries of various organs and tissues are referred to as polytrauma. What is it and what symptoms are characteristic of this condition? Polytrauma is a severe polysystem and multiple organ lesions in which a pathological process occurs. It is based on violations of local and general adaptation processes, homeostasis.
This condition is dangerous in that it does not fully manifest itself. Explicit damage can only be external damage:
- traumatic shock;
- acute bleeding;
- respiratory arrest;
- loss of consciousness.
The remaining symptoms occur depending on the type of polytrauma.
Degrees
- Shock is not observed. Lungs are damaged. The functions of the organs are fully restored.
- Shock of 1 or 2 degrees is observed. Damage to moderate organs. Rehabilitation of the function of internal organs requires a long period.
- Shock 2 or 3 degrees. The damage is severe. A partial or complete loss of function of the affected organs is observed.
- Shock 3 or 4 stages. Damage is very severe, life-threatening, and not only in the acute period, but also during treatment.
Effects
Various multiple and combined damage in terms of life hazard can vary within wide limits, so you need to classify them into the following categories:
- life threatening;
- non-hazardous;
- fatal polytrauma.
What is it and how is each species different?
Non-hazardous damage does not cause disruptions of the body, does not pose a danger to life.
A life-threatening injury affects important organs and systems that can be cured with the help of timely and qualified help.
Fatal damage - the destruction of internal organs, which can no longer be repaired even by surgery.
First aid
A person who is far from medicine will not be able to provide full medical assistance to a victim who suffered as a result of a car accident, an accident at work, etc. However, first aid for polytrauma should be made. Immediately before the arrival of the team of doctors, a passer-by or acquaintance should carry out such simple manipulations with the victim that will ease his condition:
- Stop bleeding with a tourniquet or any other improvised means.
- Release the victim from clothing (if necessary).
- Raise the victim’s body slightly.
No other manipulations are worth it. After all, it will be impossible for a person far from medicine to understand which type of polytrauma is received. Only a doctor can determine this, and then only after a thorough examination of the patient.
Vital activities
After the arrival of the team of doctors, the patient should already be supported with such a systemic lesion as polytrauma. The emergency medical assistance in this case is as follows:
- Restoring patency of the upper respiratory tract. Specialists remove mucus and vomit from the oral cavity, inject a special tube, or put on a laryngeal mask for clean and even breathing.
- Getting rid of hypoxia. Doctors resort to mechanical ventilation.
- Complete stop external bleeding.
To perform these manipulations should take no more than 4 minutes.
Patient Transfer
Treatment of polytrauma should be carried out within the walls of the hospital. Therefore, the victim must be taken to a medical facility. And for this it is important to correctly lay the patient on a stretcher, a special mattress or shield (depending on where and how the spine was damaged).
Often there are times when a polytrauma was received as a result of a traffic accident. At the same time, the victim after the accident is in a coma or is clamped by the car body. In this case, even before removing the victim from the passenger compartment of the vehicle, it is necessary to ensure normal patency of the upper respiratory tract. This can be done with the help of a special Shants collar that can fix the cervical spine.
Diagnostic Plan
When a patient enters the intensive care unit, the following measures are taken with him:
- Emergency inspection. The specialist checks whether the person is stable or not, decompensated or dying. Also, the doctor simultaneously examines breathing, blood pressure.
- A team of specialists holds events that can support the patient’s life: providing access to veins, airway patency, pleural cavity drainage, life saving operations.
- Connecting the patient to an oxygen apparatus that normalizes breathing, ventilation monitoring.
- Conducting emergency diagnostics:
- Inspection of the chest, head, abdomen, spine, limbs.
- The use of a catheter for the bladder.
- Diagnosis of peripheral pulsation.
5. Laboratory indicators:
- Blood coagulability.
- Hemogram.
- Blood type, compatibility test.
- Toxicological screening.
6. Sonography.
7. X-ray.
8. Computed tomography.
Medical care for polytrauma in a hospital
After the victim is brought to the hospital, specialists should immediately begin to deal with it. After the tests, the patient is prepared for surgery to stop severe bleeding (for example, with rupture of the liver or spleen, damage to blood vessels, etc.).
Simultaneously with surgical intervention, the provision of assistance with polytrauma is accompanied by intensive treatment of a shock condition. The patient is injected with special drugs.
Possible operations for polytrauma:
- Trepanation of the skull with brain damage.
- Surgical treatment of wounds that bleed heavily.
- Amputation of a limb.
- Treatment of open fractures, joints, blood vessels, nerves.
After surgery, the patient is further given infusion therapy, the purpose of which is to normalize the work of the cardiovascular, respiratory systems. At this stage, the patient undergoes such studies as:
- skull tomogram;
- radiography of the pelvis, chest, abdomen, limbs.
Psychological rehabilitation
People who have suffered an injury need to undergo recovery to fully adapt to life in society. And not only on the physical, but also on the psychological level. Such restoration is simply necessary for people who have reduced functional abilities, social relations, elementary self-care skills, etc. Psychological assistance in case of polytrauma should be provided by specialists and relatives of the victim. During the rehabilitation period, relatives should help the patient, be always there, but in no case try to do everything for him. It happens that after a polytrauma, the patient's basic self-care skills disappear. The task of relatives is to help the victim recover faster, to adapt to life again.
Psychological and social rehabilitation should include items such as:
- Self-care training.
- Educational program for the patient’s family.
- Organization of the patient’s life in everyday life (adaptation of the room in which the person lives to his needs).
- Vital skills training.
- Providing continuous social communication.
- Constant observation and work with a psychologist.
Rehabilitation Specialists
To provide psychological and physical assistance for polytrauma should be such doctors as:
- Rehabilitologist.
- Psychologist.
- Specialist in physiotherapy.
- Defectologist.
- Oculist.
- Psychotherapist.
- Neuropathologist.
- Orthopedist.
- Social worker.
The principles of the treatment process for patients
- Efficiency A comprehensive diagnosis should take place within 1 hour after the incident.
- Security. No manipulations carried out with the patient should not threaten his life.
- Simultaneity. All medical and diagnostic measures should be performed synchronously.
The specifics of polytrauma
It's hard for doctors to deal with people who have been hit hard by road accidents. Features of polytrauma, and hence the difficulties are:
- Severe lack of time.
- Limiting the possibility of normal transportation of the injured person even inside the hospital
- Limiting the range of diagnostic and therapeutic methods due to the fact that the patient is always in a supine position, it cannot be turned.
- Quick search for injuries of the abdomen, skull, chest, peritoneum, quick diagnosis and elimination of problems.
conclusions
In this article, you familiarized yourself with such an important and relevant topic as first aid for the diagnosis of polytrauma. What it is and to what extent such damage is distributed, also found out. It was understood that the promptness, clarity and literacy of the actions of medical personnel allows a person not only to survive after an accident, but also fully recover.