Trauma triad of death - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

6/7/15, 17:03

Trauma triad of death

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The trauma triad of death is a medical term describing the

combination of hypothermia, acidosis and coagulopathy.[1]
This combination is commonly seen in patients who have
sustained severe traumatic injuries and results in a significant
rise in the mortality rate.[2] Commonly when someone presents
with these signs damage control surgery is employed to reverse
the effects.
The three conditions share a complex relationship; each factor
can compound the others, resulting in high mortality if the
cycle continues uninterrupted.

Triad of death

Severe haemorrhage in trauma diminishes oxygen delivery, and may lead to hypothermia. This in turn can halt
the coagulation cascade, preventing blood from clotting. In the absence of blood-bound oxygen and nutrients
(hypoperfusion), the body's cells burn glucose anaerobically for energy, causing the release of lactic acid,
ketone bodies, and other acidic compounds into the blood stream, which lower the blood's pH, leading to
metabolic acidosis. Such an increase in acidity damages the tissues and organs of the body and can reduce
myocardial performance, further reducing the oxygen delivery.

References
1. Mikhail, J. (Feb 1999), "The trauma triad of death: hypothermia, acidosis, and coagulopathy", AACN Clin Issues 10 (1):
8594, PMID 10347389 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10347389)
2. Lewis, Anne Marie (Mar 2000), "Trauma triad of death emergency"
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_200003/ai_n8900119/), Nursing

External links
Mohr, Alicia M.; Asensio, Juan A.; Garca-Nez, Luis M.; Petrone, Patrizio; Sifri, Ziad C. (2005),
"Guidelines for the Institution of Damage Control in Trauma Patients"
(http://www.itaccs.com/traumacare/archive/05_04_Fall_2005/Fall2005.pdf) (PDF), ITACCS 15 (4): 185
188

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trauma_triad_of_death&oldid=631290424"

Categories: Blood disorders Traumatology Medical emergencies Trauma surgery Medicine stubs
This page was last modified on 27 October 2014, at 06:37.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma_triad_of_death

Page 1 of 2

Trauma triad of death - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

6/7/15, 17:03

apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma_triad_of_death

Page 2 of 2