Why you should read this article:

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To improve your understanding of the challenges of managing patients who have sustained blunt trauma

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To enhance your knowledge of the role of resuscitative thoracotomy in the emergency department

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To increase your awareness of new interventions that may provide alternatives to resuscitative thoracotomy

Survival rates in patients who sustain cardiac arrest following blunt trauma are suboptimal. Although resuscitative thoracotomy is advocated for managing patients who present with penetrating trauma, its use in blunt trauma is controversial because it has been consistently shown to produce suboptimal outcomes.

This article examines some of the challenges associated with decision-making regarding the management of patients with cardiac arrest following blunt trauma, critically evaluates the role of resuscitative thoracotomy and considers some novel interventions that may provide clinicians with alternative management options.