• Kyle N Remick, Evan G Wong, Chep Chuot Chep, Richard T Morton, Abdullah Monsour, Dane Fisher, John S Oh, Ramey Wilson, Debra L Malone, Charles Branas, Eric Elster, Kirby R Gross, and Adam L Kushner.
• Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889, United States; Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, United States. Electronic address: kyleremickmd@yahoo.com.
• Injury. 2014 Nov 1;45(11):1731-5.

IntroductionTrauma remains a leading cause of death and disability in the world, and trauma systems decrease mortality from trauma. We developed the Global Trauma System Evaluation Tool (G-TSET) specifically for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the Republic of South Sudan (RSS) desires a military trauma system (MTS) which allowed us to pilot the G-TSET.MethodsThe G-TSET was developed by modifying key components of a trauma system applicable to LMICs. We partnered with the SPLA Medical Corps using clinical collaboration, direct observation, and discussion groups. Benchmarks and indicators were scored with 5 indicating "full capability" and 1 meaning "not present" and were used to develop a SPLA MTS plan.ResultsThe overall MTS score was 1.15 indicating an urgent need for system development. The assessment highlighted the need for SPLA Command support. Battlefield care, transport to a trauma facility, and inter-facility communication were identified for improvement. After essential battlefield care, consisting primarily of bandaging and splinting, transport times for injured SPLA soldiers were 12h to 3 days by truck. Based on our findings, we collaborated with SPLA medical leadership to develop a plan to develop a formal MTS.ConclusionWe piloted a novel trauma system assessment tool for the MTS in the RSS. Qualitatively, we identified gaps in the MTS and provided the medical leadership with a plan for improvement. We anticipate a short-term follow-up to quantify improvement, and we seek to validate this tool for use in other countries.Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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