Article Sidebar
Published:
Mar 8, 2013Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.
Main Article Content
Is the golden hour optimally used in South Africa for children presenting with polytrauma?
Abstract
Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the logistics of medical care after paediatric polytrauma within the first hours after arrival into a trauma unit - the so-called Golden Hour.
Methods. Children presenting with polytrauma to the Trauma Unit at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital between May 2011 and August 2011 were considered for inclusion in the study.
Results. Fifty-five children were included in the final analysis. The median duration of stay in the Trauma Unit was 205 minutes (interquartile range 135 - 274).
Conclusion. Several factors were identified that unnecessarily prolonged the time that patients stayed in the trauma unit following arrival in hospital for polytrauma management.
