The European trauma course – trauma teaching goes European

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified trauma as the major health care challenge of our century, claiming more productive life years worldwide than any other disease [1]. In the European Union (EU), injury accounts for 15 % of all deaths before the age of 60 years and is the fourth most common cause of death, with more than 235,000 deaths each year from injuries, equating to 600 injury fatalities per day [2]. In children, adolescents and young adults, accident and injury rates are even higher, being the leading cause of death in these age groups. Mortality from trauma in the EU has fallen 20 % in the past 20 years, to a rate of 63.7 per 100,000 in 2010 [3]. This reduction is par…