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World J Methodol. Sep 20, 2026; 16(3): 113355
Published online Sep 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i3.113355
Published online Sep 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i3.113355
Strengthening trauma care in low- and middle-income countries through guideline adaptation and scalable system reforms
Kim-Long Le, Tri-Nhan Pham, Phu-Cuong Pham, Khanh-Phat Thai, Nguyen-Khoi Le, Tuong-Anh Mai-Phan, Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, Nhan Dan Gia Dinh Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City 07000, Viet Nam
Kim-Long Le, Tri-Nhan Pham, Minh-Quang Tran, My-Tran Trinh, Phu-Cuong Pham, Nguyen-Khoi Le, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City 07000, Viet Nam
Minh-Quang Tran, My-Tran Trinh, Department of Gastroenterology Surgery, Nhan Dan Gia Dinh Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City 07000, Viet Nam
Quynh-Nhu Duong-Ngoc, Department of Surgery, Khanh Hoi Hospital, Ho Chi Minh 07000, Viet Nam
Hoang-Long Luong-Toan, Department of Anesthesiology, Nhan Dan Gia Dinh Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City 07000, Viet Nam
Author contributions: Le KL and Thai KP conceived the study concept and were responsible for the overall study design; Le KL, Luong-Toan HL, Pham PC, Trinh MT, and Thai KP performed the literature search, data acquisition, and data extraction; Pham TN, Duong-Ngoc QN, and Tran MQ contributed data analysis, interpretation, and drafting of the manuscript; Le KL, Le NK, and Mai-Phan TA prepared the figures, tables, and assisted in manuscript organization; Le NK and Mai-Phan TA provided critical revisions, language editing, and formatting of the manuscript; Le KL coordinated the writing process, supervised the project, and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/ services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
Corresponding author: Nguyen-Khoi Le, PhD, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, 2 Duong Quang Trung Street, Ward 12, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City 07000, Viet Nam. tg_lenguyenkhoi@pnt.edu.vn
Received: August 25, 2025
Revised: September 21, 2025
Accepted: December 18, 2025
Published online: September 20, 2026
Processing time: 321 Days and 7.4 Hours
Revised: September 21, 2025
Accepted: December 18, 2025
Published online: September 20, 2026
Processing time: 321 Days and 7.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This narrative review synthesizes updated global guidelines on early polytrauma management and explores practical, scalable strategies for adapting these recommendations to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). By integrating context-sensitive clinical priorities-such as circulation-airway-breathing sequencing in exsanguination, permissive hypotension, balanced transfusion, damage-control surgery, and point-of-care diagnostics-with phased system reforms in training, referral networks, and trauma registries, LMICs can significantly improve survival without requiring wholesale replication of high-income trauma models.