ABSTRACT
Trauma is the consequence of an external cause of injury that results in tissue damage or destruction produced by intentional or unintentional exposure to thermal, mechanical, electrical, or chemical energy, or by the absence of heat or oxygen. Injury is a threat to health in every country in the world and is currently responsible for 7% of world mortality. In the United States, as in most industrialized societies, trauma is the leading cause of death from childhood to the fourth decade of life. Injuries, fatal and nonfatal, result in an important financial and productivity loss while inflicting a tremendous personal burden on the injured and their families. This universal problem needs a worldwide approach.
