A Consensus Meeting to Develop Guidelines for Paediatric Patients Undergoing Surgical Amputation Following Blast Injury – Updating the Paediatric Blast Injury Manual

The global burden of traumatic injury is predominantly shouldered by low- and middle-income countries. The number of children living in conflict-affected areas has been steadily increasing, with one in six children living in an active conflict zone in 2022 – affecting approximately 468 million children. Mortality in paediatric patients exposed to combat related injuries is higher than in the adult population. Additionally, outside of conflict environments, accidental explosions pose a significant risk in this patient group. As such, directing existing expertise to develop therapeutic best practice is essential.

The Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual, produced by the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership in 2019, provides a comprehensive guide on providing care to paediatric patients who have suffered blast injuries – including pre-hospital and resuscitative care, surgical interventions, and physical and psychological rehabilitation. Of note, the manual could expand further, to delineate guidelines for surgical technique, regarding upper and lower limb amputation, in paediatric patients.

This workshop will consist of a consensus meeting, held across both days of the conference, facilitating a multidisciplinary expert discussion. The focus will be on identifying key considerations and outlining guidelines for undertaking lower limb amputation in children who have sustained blast injuries. This consensus will be utilised to support the production of a dedicated edition of the Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual.

In the period prior to the conference, we shall identify, contact and invite the participation of relevant experts in the field, who are involved in the provision of care to paediatric amputees – both in the traumatic and elective surgical setting. We wish to include a multitude of clinical disciplines and specialties, as well as those in non-clinical professional roles – to ensure the resultant cadre is appropriately diverse. Further delegates, who are appropriate to participate, will be identified on registration to the conference. All conference participants are encouraged to attend and observe the meeting.

Essential reading will be summarised and disseminated two-weeks before the conference, along with a list of all consensus points and a template guideline, to facilitate discussion and streamline the consensus process. Areas of particular deliberation will pertain to pre-operative considerations, best practice techniques, and areas of contention. The final document will be edited and submitted to all contributors for finalisation, before presentation to the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership team. 

If anyone who is registering to attend the conference feels they are able to contribute to the meeting, please contact us at: conference@blastinjury.org.uk

The intended audience is all professionals involved in the care of paediatric and adult patients who have undergone major limb amputation. This includes civilian and military healthcare professionals, as well as bioengineers and relevant industry experts.