Effects of Advanced Trauma Life Support® Training Compared to Standard Care on Adult Trauma Patient Outcomes: A Cluster Randomised Trial

Trauma is a massive global health issue. Many training programmes have been developed to help physicians in the initial management of trauma patients.

Advanced Trauma Life Support® (ATLS®) is the most popular of these programmes and have been used to train over one million physicians worldwide. Despite its widespread use, there are no controlled trials showing that ATLS® improves patient outcomes. Multiple systematic reviews stress the need for such trials.

We will conduct a batched stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial with the aim to compare the effects of ATLS® training with standard care on outcomes in adult trauma patients. Cluster will be hospitals in India. We will roll out the intervention of ATLS® training to 32 clusters organised in four batches.

Within each batch, clusters will be randomised to one of eight implementation sequences.

We expect a sample size of 6528 patients over five years.This is a collaborative project between researchers and institutions in Sweden, India, and the United Kingdom. Our research will be important regardless of whether the results are positive or negative. If we show that ATLS® improves patient outcomes then ATLS® should be promoted to save lives and reduce morbidity.

If we show that ATLS does not improve patient outcomes then this should impact how trauma life support training is delivered and new course concepts may be needed.