IT’S TRAUMA TUESDAY is

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For nurses and other clinicians practicing anywhere

along the trauma care spectrum

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Article of the Week

Resuscitative Thoracotomy: A Review

This review article from the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery outlines the indications, physiological rationale, and steps required for a resuscitative thoracotomy (RT). The procedure aims to provide immediate decompression of cardiac tamponade, control intrathoracic bleeding, and improve blood flow to vital organs. RT can be performed in the ED, OR, or ICU. 

RT is indicated only in cases of profound hypotension or traumatic cardiac arrest that have involved LESS THAN 15 minutes of CPR. Unfortunately, outcomes are poor, but patients with penetrating trauma have a 15% survival rate, compared with only 2% in patients with blunt trauma.  

Click the link to view the article or watch a short AI-generated summary (4 min 31 sec). Pardon the weird "thoracotomy" pronunciation; the computer definitely does NOT “Speak Like a Pro.”

_{Photo credit: Cothren CC, Moore EE -World journal of emergency surgery: WJES(2006)}

Dewey MG, Moore EE, Sauaia A, Moore HB. Resuscitative thoracotomy: What you need to know. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2026;100(2):153-161.

Trauma Happenings

Does SpO2 Overestimate Oxygenation in Patients with Dark Skin Pigmentation?

In this preprint article, investigators found that pulse oximeters generally UNDERestimate true oxygen levels across all groups, but the underestimation is smaller in people with darker skin. Read more about the study by clicking the link.

Carolyn M. Hendrickson MD, Michael S. Lipnick MD, David Chen PhD, et al. EquiOx: A Prospective study of pulse oximeter bias and skin pigmentation in critically-ill adults. MedRxiv preprint. Accessed January 13, 2026.

2026 is TCAR Education Programs' 15th year!

In honor of TEP’s 15th anniversary, we’re refreshing our logos. Here’s a peek at the new TCAR course version. Next week, we’ll unveil the PCAR logos. Yes, there are TWO PCAR logos. Stay tuned to find out why.

Emergency Landing

True story! A large seabird (a cormorant, to be exact) knocked on the doors of a German ED seeking help because a triple fishing hook was stuck in its beak.

The best part? Instead of shooing the cormorant away, the ED team and firefighters cared for the bird and removed the impalement. The feathered patient was discharged home with no follow-up needed. Would this big bird meet trauma activation criteria at your facility? 

Read more about it in this news article from AP News.

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