Apps in Trauma and Emergency Surgery

Background: As physicians, Mobile smartphones, laptops and tablets are now an integral part of our day to day activities including personal communications as well as our routine clinical practice. Methods: A digital survey was designed to explore the usage of mobile smartphones and the associated apps among surgeons in Trauma and Emergency departments. It was sent to 850 members of the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery. Results: A total of 91 responses were received with 60.4% aged between 35 and 54 years. Only 24.1%of respondents found the available apps extremely useful in their practice, however 75.9% of participants agreed on not being able to identify a certain good application to rely on. Conclusion: Despite the widespread use of smartphones among doctors of different grades and specialties, there is a preference shown towards the use of instant messenger apps and the use of the camera for clinical photos. The usefulness of current available apps appears to be limited due to the absence of a regulating body to check the validity of data and peer review the contents of apps leaving a huge responsibility on the individual doctor using the app to rely on its results.

Keywords: emergency surgery, smartphones, medical apps

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