Advanced bleeding care in trauma: A European guideline update (5th edition)

The European guideline on management of major bleeding and coagulopathy following trauma: Fifth edition

Spahn et al. Crit Care. 2019;23:98

• These guidelines were compiled by the pan-European, multidisciplinary Task Force for Advanced Bleeding Care in Trauma
• They feature a new patient/problem-oriented structure
• Recommendations were made using an evidence-based consensus approach

The fifth edition of the European guideline on management of major bleeding and coagulopathy following trauma is the latest in a series of publications released by the pan-European, multidisciplinary Task Force for Advanced Bleeding Care in Trauma since 2007. It is based on a combination of the latest published scientific evidence, expert opinion and current clinical practice (Spahn et al., 2019).

Changes in consensus since the publication of the fourth edition of these guidelines in 2016 are reflected in the various updates summarised in Figure 1 (Rossaint et al., 2016; Spahn et al., 2019). These include modifications to existing recommendations and the addition of several brand-new recommendations. The guidelines have also undergone a major structural overhaul intended to better align them with the treatment pathway for trauma patients with major bleeding and coagulopathy (Spahn et al., 2019).

Figure 1. Summary of key updates to the European guideline on management of major bleeding and coagulopathy following trauma. Recommendations are graded according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system (Adapted from Rossaint et al., 2016 and Spahn et al., 2019).

References

1. Spahn DR, Bouillon B, Cerny V, Duranteau J, Filipescu D, Hunt BJ. The European guideline on management of major bleeding and coagulopathy following trauma: fifth edition. Crit Care. 2019;23:98.
2. Rossaint R, Bouillon B, Cerny V, Coats TJ, Duranteau J, Fernández-Mondéjar E et al. The European guideline on management of major bleeding and coagulopathy following trauma: fourth edition. Crit Care. 2016;20:100.