Emergency Management of Obese Patients with Blunt Trauma

Abstract

As the general population of obese individuals has increased, so too has the population of traumatically injured obese patients. The care of obese patients presents significant challenges even at level 1 trauma centers. The purpose of this article is to review the clinical challenges of emergency management of obese patients with blunt trauma. These challenges include prehospital care and transportation as well as limitations to adjuncts to the primary survey and resuscitation that can interfere with timely and thorough diagnosis and treatment of definitive injuries. Strategies to overcome these challenges are presented.