Shark-Related Injuries in the United States: A National Trauma Data Bank Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 000313482110241
Author(s):  
William Ganske ◽  
Rohit Sharma ◽  
Stephen Kaminski ◽  
Arianne Johnson

Background Shark-related injuries (SRIs) are a dreaded, but rare, source of injury that have not been well described. The present study aims to examine the incidence, injuries, and outcomes of SRIs presenting to US trauma centers. Study Design The National Trauma Data Bank was queried from 2015 to 2018 to identify SRIs using ICD-10 e-codes W56.41XA, W56.42XA, and W56.49XA. Descriptive analyses were conducted on patient demographics, injuries, hospital course, procedures, and outcomes. Results Fifty-three patients were identified with a mechanism of injury that was shark-related. The median age was 29 years (range: 3-67) and median injury severity score was 5 (IQR: 3-10). The majority of patients (96%) were admitted to the hospital (median length of stay (LOS): 4.0 days, IQR: 3.0-8.0), 55% went directly to the operating room, and 53% required intensive care unit (ICU) admission (median ICU LOS: 4.5 days, IQR: 1.3-7.0). Extremity injuries were common: 47% suffered lower extremity injuries, 40% had upper extremity injuries, and 13% had both. The majority of patients underwent surgical procedures: 83% had soft tissue injuries requiring debridement, flap coverage, or skin grafting; 28% suffered neurovascular injuries (17% requiring nerve repair and 2% requiring arterial bypass); and 59% required orthopedic intervention. Six patients (11%) required amputation(s). All patients survived to discharge. Conclusion Although an exceedingly rare source of trauma, SRIs are frequently associated with devastating injuries. Given the severity of injuries and associated procedures required, these patients warrant referral to a trauma center capable of providing comprehensive care.

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (10) ◽  
pp. 1630-1634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navpreet K. Dhillon ◽  
Nikhil T. Linaval ◽  
Kavita A. Patel ◽  
Christos Colovos ◽  
Ara Ko ◽  
...  

Rapid transfer of trauma patients to a trauma center for definitive management is essential to increase survival. The utilization of helicopter transportation for this purpose remains heavily debated. The purpose of this study was to characterize the trends in helicopter transportations of trauma patients in the United States over the last decade. Subjects with a primary mode of either ground or helicopter transportation were selected from the National Trauma Data Bank datasets 2007 to 2015. Over this period, the proportion of patients transported by a helicopter decreased significantly in a linear fashion from 17 per cent in 2007 to 10.2 per cent in 2015 ( P < 0.001). The overall mortality of this population was 7.6 per cent and remained unchanged over the study period ( P = 0.545). Almost 3 of 10 subjects (29.4%) transported by a helicopter had an Injury Severity Score <9. The proportion of elderly (>65 years) patients requiring helicopter transportation increased by 69.1 per cent, whereas their associated mortality decreased by 21.5 per cent. The use of a helicopter for the transportation of trauma patients has significantly decreased over the last decade without any significant change in mortality, possibly indicating more effective utilization of available resources. Overtriage of patients with minor injuries remained relatively unchanged.


2017 ◽  
Vol 225 (4) ◽  
pp. e107
Author(s):  
Elias K. Awad ◽  
Laura V. Veras ◽  
Kayla E. Leibl ◽  
Clay Kerby ◽  
Ankush Gosain ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan J Keneally ◽  
Brittney A Meyers ◽  
Cynthia H Shields ◽  
Robert Ricca ◽  
Kevin M Creamer

ABSTRACT Introduction The authors compared pediatric thoracic patients in the Joint Theatre Trauma Registry (JTTR) to those in the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) to assess differences in patient mortality rates and mortality risk accounting for age, injury patterns, and injury severity. Materials and Methods Patients less than 19 years of age with thoracic trauma were identified in both the JTTR and NTDB. Multiple logistic regression, χ2, Student’s t-test, or Mann-Whitney U test were used as indicated to compare the two groups. Results Pediatric thoracic trauma patients seen in Iraq and Afghanistan (n = 955) had a significantly higher mortality rate (15.1 vs. 6.0%, P &lt;.01) than those in the NTDB (n = 9085). After controlling for covariates between the JTTR and the NTDB, there was no difference in mortality (odds ratio for mortality for U.S. patients was 0.74, 95% CI 0.52-1.06, P = .10). The patients seen in Iraq or Afghanistan were significantly younger (8 years old, interquartile ratio (IQR) 2-13 vs. 15, IQR 10-17, P &lt;.01) had greater severity of injuries (injury severity score 17, IQR 12-26 vs. 12, IQR 8-22, P &lt;.01), had significantly more head injuries (29 vs. 14%, P &lt;.01), and over half were exposed to a blast. Discussion Pediatric patients with thoracic trauma in Iraq and Afghanistan in the JTTR had similar mortality rates compared to the civilian population in the NTDB after accounting for confounding covariates. These findings indicate that deployed military medical professionals are providing comparable quality of care in extremely challenging circumstances. This information has important implications for military preparedness, medical training, and casualty care.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (7) ◽  
pp. 752-756
Author(s):  
Karl Damroth ◽  
Rachel Damroth ◽  
Asad Chaudhary ◽  
Anfin Erickson ◽  
Liam Heneghan ◽  
...  

To characterize both emergency room (ER) and hospital discharge dispositions of patients presenting with farm-related injuries. The 2012 National Trauma Data Bank was queried in August 2017 for injuries occurring on a farm. Patients were stratified by gender, age group, race, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and injury type. We performed logistic regression analysis to correlate parameters with likelihood of discharge home or death. P values < 0.05 were considered significant. Five thousand six hundred thirty-one patients were identified, the majority of whom were male (72%) and white (85%). The most common mechanisms of injury included animal-related (29%), followed by falls, vehicles, and other causes. The highest ISSs were seen in vehicular injuries (11% ISS of 251) and the greatest fatality rate was seen in machinery injuries (4%). Four thousand seven hundred fifty-three (84%) patients were admitted to the hospital, and 4056 (72%) were discharged home from the ER or after hospitalization. One hundred thirty patients (2%) died of their farm-related injury. Most patients presenting to the ER with farm-related injuries survive, are admitted to the hospital, and are ultimately discharged home. Few patients die of their injuries. Animal injury is most common and machinery injury most lethal of farm trauma patients presenting to the ER.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 342-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander A. Xu ◽  
Janis L. Breeze ◽  
Jessica K. Paulus ◽  
Nikolay Bugaev

Existing literature on traumatic injury of the esophagus (TIE) is limited. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of TIE. We reviewed the National Trauma Data Bank for the years 2010–2015. We described the demographics, characteristics, and outcomes of adult (age ≥16 years) TIE patients and also compared those factors in blunt versus penetrating TIE. The association between TIE and mortality was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. Thousand four hundred eleven adult TIE patients were identified (37 per 100,000 trauma patients, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 35, 39). TIE patients were younger (38 vs 52 years), more likely to be male (81% vs 62%), and more severely injured (Injury Severity Score ≥ 25: 45% vs 7%) than patients without TIE (all P < 0.001). TIE was observed 16 times more frequently with penetrating injuries (257 per 100,000, 95% CI: 240, 270) than with blunt injuries (16 per 100,000, 95% CI: 15, 18). Inhospital TIE mortality was 19 per cent. TIE patients had greater risk of mortality than other trauma patients, after adjusting for age, gender, and Injury Severity Score (odds ratio = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.7). Mortality in blunt and penetrating TIE did not differ. Although extremely rare, TIE is independently associated with a marked increase in mortality, even after adjusting for other risk factors.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 770-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay C. Bridges ◽  
Brett H. Waibel ◽  
Mark A. Newell

Permissive hypotension is a component of damage control resuscitation that aims to provide a directed, controlled resuscitation, while countering the “lethal triad.” This principle has not been specifically studied in elderly (ELD) trauma patients (≥55 years). Given the ELD population's lack of physiologic reserve and risk of inadequate perfusion with “normal” blood pressures, we hypothesized that utilized a permissive hypotension strategy in ELD trauma patients would result in worse outcomes compared with younger patients (18–54 years). A retrospective review of National Trauma Data Bank reports from 2009 and 2010, identifying critically ill patients undergoing a “damage control laparotomy,” was performed to determine the effect of age and systolic blood pressure on outcome. Logistic regression analysis, including evaluation of an interaction between age and admission blood pressure, was performed on mortality using admission demographics, physiology, injury severity, mechanism of injury, and in-hospital complications. Although there was a higher likelihood of death with greater age, lower admission systolic blood pressure, lower Glasgow Coma Score, increased injury severity score, and acute renal failure, a synergistic effect of age and blood pressure on mortality was not identified. Permissive hypotension appears to be a possible management strategy in ELD trauma patients.


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