Protocols

These protocols represent a safe, preferred approach to patient care based on institutional and personnel capabilities. However, the ultimate determination regarding guideline application is to be made by the treating physician and healthcare professionals with full consideration of the individual patient’s clinical status as well as available institutional resources. Protocols are not intended to take the place of healthcare providers’ judgment in diagnosing and treating individual patients. Individual patient circumstances may warrant deviation from these guidelines, and it is the clinician’s judgment that should determine the course of management. Literature addressing the care of the injured patient is continually evolving.