Patient Information
The GOAL-Trauma Study: Global Outcomes After Laparotomy for Trauma
Over five million people die from traumatic injuries worldwide every year. Many traumatic injuries, such as road-traffic accidents or stabbings, result in damage to the organs or blood vessels in the abdomen and these patients may require an emergency operation on their abdomen, called a trauma laparotomy, to save their life. A trauma laparotomy is a key operation in trauma care, as it can help to control bleeding or repair a hole in an organ, however patients are often very sick when undergoing this procedure
The majority of patients suffering traumatic injuries, including those to the abdomen, occur in low- and middle-income countries. However, the differences in the injuries, the hospital care they receive, and their overall outcomes when compared to high-income countries patients need to be better understood if standards of care are to be improved.
There are a large number of trauma-related deaths occurring each year around the world, including among those who have undergone a trauma laparotomy, and if survival rates are to be improved, high-quality data is needed to help us better understand where the improvements in care are required.
Run and funded by the University of Cambridge, the GOAL-Trauma study collected data on all patients across all ages who underwent a trauma laparotomy within the first 5 days of them presenting to hospital following injury. It included patients from any hospital across the world that performs trauma surgery, collecting data before, during, and after the operation. Patients were followed up for 30 days following their operation.
This study demonstrated significant variation in the care received for patients requiring a trauma laparotomy worldwide, with those in lower resource countries 3 times more likely to die following the operation. More work is now required to better understand how improvements can be made to trauma care on a global scale and help save countless lives
The full research paper can be downloaded and read from the Lancet Global Health journal website
