Is Overtriage Associated With Increased Mortality? Insights From a Simulation Model of Mass Casualty Trauma Care

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (S1) ◽  
pp. S14-S24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel Hupert ◽  
Eric Hollingsworth ◽  
Wei Xiong
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Model ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
Trauma System ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Patient Treatment ◽  
System Response ◽  
Critical Patients ◽  
Injured Patients ◽  
Dependent Mortality

ABSTRACTPurpose: To examine the relationship between overtriage and critical mortality after a mass casualty incident (MCI) using a simulation model of trauma system response.Methods: We created a discrete event simulation model of trauma system management of MCIs involving individual patient triage and treatment. Model variables include triage performance, treatment capability, treatment time, and time-dependent mortality of critically injured patients. We model triage as a variable selection process applied to a hypothetical population of critically and noncritically injured patients. Treatment capability is represented by staffed emergency department trauma bays with associated staffed operating rooms that are recycled after each use. We estimated critical and noncritical patient treatment times and time-dependent mortality rates from the trauma literature.Results: In this simulation model, overtriage, the proportion of noncritical patients among all of those labeled as critical, has a positive, negative, or variable association with critical mortality depending on its etiology (ie, related to changes in triage sensitivity or to changes in the prevalence and total number of critical patients). In all of the modeled scenarios, the ratio of critical patients to treatment capability has a greater impact on critical mortality than overtriage level or time-dependent mortality assumption.Conclusions: Increasing overtriage may have positive, negative, or mixed effects on critical mortality in this trauma system simulation model. These results, which contrast with prior analyses describing a positive linear relationship between overtriage and mortality, highlight the need for alternative metrics to describe trauma system response after MCIs. We explore using the relative number of critical patients to available and staffed treatment units, or the critical surge to capability ratio, which exhibits a consistent and nonlinear association with critical mortality in this model. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2007;1(Suppl 1):S14–S24)

scholarly journals The evolution of trauma care in the Netherlands over 20 years

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Falco Hietbrink ◽  
Roderick M. Houwert ◽  
Karlijn J. P. van Wessem ◽  
Rogier K. J. Simmermacher ◽  
Geertje A. M. Govaert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Trauma Care ◽  
Trauma System ◽  
Trauma Surgeon ◽  
Severely Injured ◽  
Severely Injured Patients ◽  
The Past ◽  
Level 1 ◽  
Trauma Surgeons ◽  
Injured Patients

Abstract Introduction In 1999 an inclusive trauma system was initiated in the Netherlands and a nationwide trauma registry, including all admitted trauma patients to every hospital, was started. The Dutch trauma system is run by trauma surgeons who treat both the truncal (visceral) and extremity injuries (fractures). Materials and Methods In this comprehensive review based on previous published studies, data over the past 20 years from the central region of the Netherlands (Utrecht) was evaluated. Results It is demonstrated that the initiation of the trauma systems and the governance by the trauma surgeons led to a region-wide mortality reduction of 50% and a mortality reduction for the most severely injured of 75% in the level 1 trauma centre. Furthermore, major improvements were found in terms of efficiency, demonstrating the quality of the current system and its constructs such as the type of surgeon. Due to the major reduction in mortality over the past few years, the emphasis of trauma care evaluation shifts towards functional outcome of severely injured patients. For the upcoming years, centralisation of severely injured patients should also aim at the balance between skills in primary resuscitation and surgical stabilization versus longitudinal surgical involvement. Conclusion Further centralisation to a limited number of level 1 trauma centres in the Netherlands is necessary to consolidate experience and knowledge for the trauma surgeon. The future trauma surgeon, as specialist for injured patients, should be able to provide the vast majority of trauma care in this system. For the remaining part, intramural, regional and national collaboration is essential

scholarly journals The impact of regionalized trauma care on the distribution of severely injured patients in the Netherlands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzan Dijkink ◽  
Erik W. van Zwet ◽  
Pieta Krijnen ◽  
Luke P. H. Leenen ◽  
Frank W. Bloemers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Trauma Care ◽  
Trauma System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Severely Injured ◽  
Trauma Centers ◽  
Severely Injured Patients ◽  
The Right ◽  
Injured Patients ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Twenty years ago, an inclusive trauma system was implemented in the Netherlands. The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of structured trauma care on the concentration of severely injured patients over time. Methods All severely injured patients (Injury Severity Score [ISS] ≥ 16) documented in the Dutch Trauma Registry (DTR) in the calendar period 2008–2018 were included for analysis. We compared severely injured patients, with and without severe neurotrauma, directly brought to trauma centers (TC) and non-trauma centers (NTC). The proportion of patients being directly transported to a trauma center was determined, as was the total Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS), and ISS. Results The documented number of severely injured patients increased from 2350 in 2008 to 4694 in 2018. During this period, on average, 70% of these patients were directly admitted to a TC (range 63–74%). Patients without severe neurotrauma had a lower chance of being brought to a TC compared to those with severe neurotrauma. Patients directly presented to a TC were more severely injured, reflected by a higher total AIS and ISS, than those directly transported to a NTC. Conclusion Since the introduction of a well-organized trauma system in the Netherlands, trauma care has become progressively centralized, with more severely injured patients being directly presented to a TC. However, still 30% of these patients is initially brought to a NTC. Future research should focus on improving pre-hospital triage to facilitate swift transfer of the right patient to the right hospital.

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