Trauma and the Anesthesiologist: an International Perspective

Purpose of Review: This review highlights the roles and responsibilities of anesthesiologists in the management of critically ill trauma patients in different countries around the world. It provides a summary of the scope of practice of different branches of anesthesiology that are involved in the resuscitation of trauma patients. Recent Findings: The reduced indication for operative intervention in trauma along with the increasing role for anesthesia in managing trauma patients outside the operating room has created a demand for trauma acute care anesthesiologists. The leading obstacle to more prevalent offsite trauma anesthesia personnel is the lack of formal subspecialty training programs and credentialing requirements of different medical societies. Summary: Trauma anesthesiologists act as a resource for anesthesiologists in the operating room and trauma patients during the trauma care pathway including prehospital transport, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO service, trauma team both civilian and military, and complicated pain management. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.