Golden hour (medicine)

In emergency medicine, the golden hour is the period of time immediately after a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood that prompt medical and surgical treatment will prevent death.

[1][2] While initially defined as an hour, the exact time period depends on the nature of the injury and can be more than or less than this duration.

Some have come to use the term to refer to the core principle of rapid intervention in trauma cases, rather than the narrow meaning of a critical one-hour time period.

[2] R Adams Cowley is credited with promoting this concept, first in his capacity as a military surgeon and later as head of the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

"[4] While most medical professionals agree that delays in definitive care are undesirable as they may lead to significant increases in morbidity and mortality, research casts doubt on the validity of the golden hour as it appears to lack a scientific basis.