Trauma Newsletter February 2026-Trauma Newsletter February 2026

Trauma Newsletter February 2026

Pdf Summary

This February 2026 internal trauma newsletter continues a series on hemorrhage control, moving from community-level actions (like Stop the Bleed) to the critical role of advanced prehospital care and its connection to the hospital trauma system. It reiterates that unintentional injury and hemorrhage are major causes of trauma death and encourages organizations to schedule free Stop the Bleed classes and receive complimentary kits through the SSM St. Louis University Hospital Trauma Department.<br /><br />The newsletter emphasizes the complexity of managing multiple severely injured patients in shock and outlines key EMS interventions for bleeding control: direct pressure, wound packing, tourniquet use, and pelvic binder application when pelvic hemorrhage is suspected. EMS teams reassess to confirm control measures are effective and aim for a target scene time of about ten minutes to reduce delays to definitive care.<br /><br />A major focus is hemorrhagic shock, which carries high mortality—often before hospital arrival. The “golden hour,” the first hour after traumatic injury, is highlighted as a crucial window where rapid assessment, bleeding control, resuscitation, and transport can improve outcomes. The newsletter notes the “lethal triad” (hypothermia, acidosis, and coagulopathy) as a dangerous combination that complicates resuscitation, reinforcing the need for early hemorrhage control, restored perfusion, and prevention of secondary injury. EMS is portrayed as essential to protecting the golden hour through rapid scene work, extrication, airway management, and timely transport to a trauma center.<br /><br />SSM SLUH offers free EMS-focused trauma case study education; 2025 covered amputations, while 2026 focuses on polytrauma cases. The newsletter also describes the St. Louis region as trauma-resource rich, with multiple ACS-verified trauma centers, and stresses EMS’s goal of transporting patients to the “right place the first place.” The next newsletter will address hospital management of life-threatening hemorrhage.

Keywords

hemorrhage control

Stop the Bleed

prehospital trauma care

EMS interventions

tourniquet use

wound packing

pelvic binder

hemorrhagic shock

golden hour

lethal triad