COT Releases Updated National Guideline for Field Triage of Injured Patients

To continue improving clinical outcomes from trauma, the ACS Committee on Trauma (COT) has revised its National Guideline for the Field Triage of Injured Patients. The most recent version, updated in 2021, is published online in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

The ACS led an interdisciplinary expert panel, which based the revision on a series of scientific literature reviews as well as a broad Emergency Medical Services (EMS) stakeholder feedback tool. The guideline is intended to capture the perspective from active EMS clinicians.

This update is designed to improve the usability, performance, adherence, and application of the guideline and is based on the most recent science and direct feedback from EMS clinicians to improve prehospital care of injured patients across the US.

“The Field Triage Guideline for Injured Patients assists EMS clinicians in identifying the patients at greatest risk of severe injury after a traumatic event and directing high-risk patients to the most appropriate trauma center available to care for them. Getting the right patient to the right place at the right time saves lives,” said Eileen M. Bulger, MD, FACS, Medical Director, ACS Trauma Programs.

View the guideline, resources, and implementation tools on the ACS website.