SynthesisWorld journal of emergency surgery : WJES2021
Evidence for use of damage control surgery and damage control interventions in civilian trauma patients: a systematic review.
Synthesis in World journal of emergency surgery : WJES, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Timing of planned reoperation after damage control surgery in patients with trauma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.World journal of emergency surgery : WJES · 2025Pooled it
- [Clinical disaster medicine: recommendations of the Surgical Working Group for Military and Emergency Surgery].Unfallchirurgie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2025Guideline
- Blood transfusion strategies for major bleeding in trauma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- The European guideline on management of major bleeding and coagulopathy following trauma: sixth edition.Critical care (London, England) · 2023Guideline
- [Crisis, disaster and war: the role of urology in resilient healthcare structures].Urologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- [Visceral surgery in mass casualty incidents due to disasters, crises and war].Chirurgie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Strengthening trauma care in low- and middle-income countries through guideline adaptation and scalable system reforms.World journal of methodology · 2026Review
- Inflammatory Stewardship-A Perspective for Active Management of Acute Inflammation.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- Low-cost dynamic fascial traction using serial Bogota bag tightening in open abdomen management: A prospective randomized study.World journal of gastrointestinal pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Article
- Duodenal Trauma: Mechanisms of Injury, Diagnosis, and Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Emergency Whipple procedure for traumatic pancreas-duodenum separation in a patient with multiorgan injury: a case report and review.Ulusal travma ve acil cerrahi dergisi = Turkish journal of trauma & emergency surgery : TJTES · 2026Review
- Role of Damage Control Surgery in Severe Liver Trauma: A Systematic Review of Mortality, Morbidity, and ICU Stay.Cureus · 2025Review
- Indications to perform damage control surgery in pediatric trauma: a scoping review-Are children little adults?World journal of emergency surgery : WJES · 2025Article
- Review
- Direct Peritoneal Resuscitation in Critically Ill Patients with an Open Abdomen is Associated with Increased Risk of Intraperitoneal Fungal Infections.Surgical infections · 2025Article
- Safety and feasibility of open abdomen with negative pressure therapy in major liver trauma: a retrospective bicenter study.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2025Article
- Acute Perforated Large Bowel Obstruction Due to Colorectal Malignancy: A Surgical Emergency With Options.Cureus · 2025Article
- Middle-Lobe Bronchus Transection in Blunt Thoracic Trauma From a High-Speed Motor Vehicle Collision: A Case Report.The American journal of case reports · 2025Article
- Increased use of damage control laparotomy for emergency small bowel or colon surgery: does it affect patient outcomes?European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025Article
- Implementation of Modified Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocols for Elective Incisional Hernia Repair After Damage Control Surgery: A Retrospective Observational Study.Journal of abdominal wall surgery : JAWS · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough damage control (DC) surgery is widely assumed to reduce mortality in critically injured patients, survivors often suffer substantial morbidity, suggesting that it should only be used when indicated. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine which indications for DC have evidence that they are reliable and/or valid (and therefore in which clinical situations evidence supports use of DC or that DC improves outcomes).
methodsWe searched 11 databases (1950-April 1, 2019) for studies that enrolled exclusively civilian trauma patients and reported data on the reliability (consistency of surgical decisions in a given clinical scenario) or content (surgeons would perform DC in that clinical scenario or the indication predicted use of DC in practice), construct (were associated with poor outcomes), or criterion (were associated with improved outcomes when DC was conducted instead of definitive surgery) validity for suggested indications for DC surgery or DC interventions.
resultsAmong 34,979 citations identified, we included 36 cohort studies and three cross-sectional surveys in the systematic review. Of the 59 unique indications for DC identified, 10 had evidence of content validity [e.g., a major abdominal vascular injury or a packed red blood cell (PRBC) volume exceeding the critical administration threshold], nine had evidence of construct validity (e.g., unstable patients with combined abdominal vascular and pancreas gunshot injuries or an iliac vessel injury and intraoperative acidosis), and six had evidence of criterion validity (e.g., penetrating trauma patients requiring > 10 U PRBCs with an abdominal vascular and multiple abdominal visceral injuries or intraoperative hypothermia, acidosis, or coagulopathy). No studies evaluated the reliability of indications.
conclusionsFew indications for DC surgery or DC interventions have evidence supporting that they are reliable and/or valid. DC should be used with respect for the uncertainty regarding its effectiveness, and only in circumstances where definitive surgery cannot be entertained.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.