Reply to the Letter to the Editor of R. M. Hasler et al.

We would like to thank Rebecca Maria Hasler and her colleagues [1] for their interest in our report [2] and seize the opportunity to congratulate them on their publication [3] as a valuable contribution to the development of trauma care in Switzerland. Indeed, a comparison of your TARN-based data and our independent registry is of great interest. Our trauma database has been conceived to be fully compatible with the German DGU-registry, the UK TARN and the American National Trauma Databank. Furthermore, it has served as an example for the “soon-to-be-launched” Swiss National Trauma Registry, which will adhere to the German DGU registry. We acknowledge that when submitting our report, we were not aware of their to be published work. In this context, we are happy to amend our text to “... the first comprehensive report over a sustained period of five years”. Comparison of our two publications reveals interesting differences in patient’s characteristics and outcomes. We consider the interest of a joint analysis and further comparison of such findings as a convincing argument for a rapid set up of the national trauma registry. Such database will provide entirely comparable Swiss-wide data, a key element for regional system planning and optimisation of patient care and outcome. We are looking forward to future collaboration with the common aim to improve trauma care on a national level.