Second edition of the recommendations from the Colombian consensus committee for the management of traumatic brain injury in the prehospital setting, emergency department, surgery, and intensive care (Beyond one option for treatment of traumatic brain injury: A stratified protocol [BOOTStraP]).

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a leading cause of mortality and disability in Colombia and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where disparities in resource availability limit implementation of standardized care. The first edition of BOOTStraP (Beyond One Option for Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Stratified Protocol), published in 2020, provided guidance for TBI management across variable healthcare settings. Advances in neurotrauma care prompted development of an updated protocol.

RESEARCH QUESTION: How can TBI management be optimized across prehospital care, emergency care, neurosurgical surgery, and intensive care phases in settings with varying resource availability?

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A multidisciplinary panel of 17 national experts in prehospital care, emergency medicine, neurosurgery, and intensive care conducted a structured consensus process using Delphi principles and Nominal Group Technique. Eleven predefined clinical questions were addressed. Recommendations were developed through subgroup work, literature review, and iterative voting, requiring ≥70% agreement at subgroup level and ≥90% plenary consensus. Final algorithms were stratified according to resource availability and healthcare complexity.

RESULTS: The second BOOTStraP edition produced 9 integrated management algorithms covering prehospital transport, emergency care, neurosurgical decision-making, and critical care. Interventions are stratified and color-coded by resource requirements, enabling feasible actions in low-, intermediate-, and high-resource settings. Algorithms integrate neuroprotection goals, triage criteria, surgical indications, and monitoring strategies.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: BOOTStraP provides a pragmatic, phase-based, resource-sensitive framework bridging evidence-based recommendations with real-world constraints. This approach supports context-adapted decision-making and may reduce secondary brain injury while improving standardization of TBI care in resource-limited environments.