Seven years since defining the top five research priorities in physician-provided pre-hospital critical care – what did it lead to and where are we now?

Excerpt

In trying to match limited resources to the research fields most critically in need, it seems reasonable to start the process by asking the right questions. In October 2011, Fevang et al. published a consensus process in the journal that defined the five most urgent topics to be prioritized for research within the field of physician-provided pre-hospital critical care [1]. The requirement was brought about by the lack of evidence-base for current pre-hospital practice and even for the utilization of physicians in this phase of care. To address these central issues, research leaders from physician-provided pre-hospital critical care systems across Europe were brought together in a consensus process with the aim of defining the most important research priorities in this rapidly evolving field of medicine. This Editorial introduces a series of articles that review what progress has been made in each of these 5 prioritized areas of pre-hospital research and reveals where the gaps in our knowledge still exist. …