Response to commentary: the search goes on – optimal trauma triage criteria for older adults remain elusive

We would like to thank Drs. Berry, Folette, and Hartwell for their thoughtful commentary1 on our article ‘Multicenter Study of Trauma Activation Criteria and Time Sensitive Care for Older vs Younger Adults’.2 We agree wholeheartedly with their assessment that there is a continued need for additional research into high-yield, data-driven trauma activation criteria (TAC) that serve the dual purposes of optimal patient care and responsible stewardship of trauma care resources. Our study findings suggest that incorporating high-intensity time-sensitive interventions into the assessment of TAC effectiveness and efficiency is of significant added value, emphasizing the importance of trauma team actions as well as providing strong justification for activation. Our findings also stress that this applies not only to TAC for older adults but also to younger adults, as evidenced by the significant rates of undertriage and overtriage reported in both groups. We look forward to continued multicenter investigations into this important area and invite interested colleagues from centers in the USA and around the world to work with our research group to further address this research gap.