Non-Selective Thoracic Computed Tomography in Trauma Patients Results in Injury Severity Score Inflation

2021 ◽  
pp. 000313482110249
Author(s):  
Leonardo Alaniz ◽  
Omaer Muttalib ◽  
Juan Hoyos ◽  
Cesar Figueroa ◽  
Cristobal Barrios
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Injury Severity Score ◽  
Severity Score ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Treatment Plan ◽  
Mortality Prediction ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Mortality Benefit ◽  
Severity Scores ◽  
Score Inflation

Introduction Extensive research relying on Injury Severity Scores (ISS) reports a mortality benefit from routine non-selective thoracic CTs (an integral part of pan-computed tomography (pan-CT)s). Recent research suggests this mortality benefit may be artifact. We hypothesized that the use of pan-CTs inflates ISS categorization in patients, artificially affecting admission rates and apparent mortality benefit. Methods Eight hundred and eleven patients were identified with an ISS >15 with significant findings in the chest area. Patient charts were reviewed and scores were adjusted to exclude only occult injuries that did not affect treatment plan. Pearson chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression were used to compare adjusted cases vs non-adjusted cases. Results After adjusting for inflation, 388 (47.8%) patients remained in the same ISS category, 378 (46.6%) were reclassified into 1 lower ISS category, and 45 (5.6%) patients were reclassified into 2 lower ISS categories. Patients reclassified by 1 category had a lower rate of mortality ( P < 0.001), lower median total hospital LOS ( P < .001), ICU days ( P < .001), and ventilator days ( P = 0.008), compared to those that remained in the same ISS category. Conclusion Injury Severity Score inflation artificially increases survival rate, perpetuating the increased use of pan-CTs. This artifact has been propagated by outdated mortality prediction calculation methods. Thus, prospective evaluations of algorithms for more selective CT scanning are warranted.

Predictors of blunt diaphragm injury in Australia

Trauma ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146040862110418
Author(s):  
Annelise M Cocco ◽  
Vignesh Ratnaraj ◽  
Benjamin PT Loveday ◽  
Kellie Gumm ◽  
Phillip Antippa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Injury Severity Score ◽  
Severity Score ◽  
Major Trauma ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Rib Fractures ◽  
Organ Injury ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Missed Injury ◽  
Diaphragm Injury ◽  
Trauma Service

Introduction Blunt diaphragm injury (BDI) is an uncommon, potentially fatal consequence of blunt torso injury. While associations between BDI and other factors such as mechanism of injury or other injuries have been described elsewhere, little recent research has been done in Australia into BDI. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence rate of BDI in our centre, identify how it was diagnosed, determine rates of missed injury and identify predictive factors for BDI. The hypothesis was that patients with BDI would significantly differ to those without BDI. Methods All major trauma patients with blunt torso injuries at our Level 1 major trauma service from 2010 to 2018 were included. Data for patient demographics, other injuries, diagnosis and treatment of BDI were extracted. Patients with BDI were compared with patients without BDI in order to identify differences that could be used to predict BDI in future patients. Results Of 5190 patients with a blunt torso injury, 51 (0.98%) had a BDI at a mean age of 53 ± 19.6 years, and median Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 27(IQR 21–38.5) compared with 5139 patients with a mean age of 48.2 ± 20.7 years and median ISS of 21.9(IQR 14–26) who did not have a BDI. The diagnosis of BDI was made at CT ( n = 35), surgery ( n = 14) or autopsy ( n = 2). Blunt diaphragm injury was missed on index imaging for 11 of 43 patients (25.6%). On multivariate analysis, each point increase in ISS (OR 1.03, p = 0.02); rib fractures (OR 4.65, p = 0.004); splenic injury (OR 2.60, p = 0.004); and liver injury (OR 2.78, p = 0.003) were independently associated with BDI. Conclusion Injury Severity Score, rib fractures and solid abdominal organ injury increase the likelihood of BDI. In patients with these injuries, BDI should be considered even in the presence of normal CT findings.

Proteinuria as a Predictor of Renal Dysfunction in Trauma Patients Receiving Intravenous Contrast

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (9) ◽  
pp. 1194-1200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin J. Clark ◽  
Linda L. Wong ◽  
Fedor Lurie ◽  
Brad K. Kamitaki
Keyword(s):  
Injury Severity Score ◽  
Renal Dysfunction ◽  
Severity Score ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Fresh Frozen Plasma ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Intravenous Contrast ◽  
Contrast Enhanced ◽  
Fresh Frozen ◽  
Enhanced Imaging

Trauma patients have unknown comorbidities, multiple injuries, and incomplete laboratory testing, yet require contrast-enhanced imaging to identify potentially life-threatening problems. Our goal was to characterize contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in this population. We retrospectively reviewed characteristics of 402 patients who presented to a Level II trauma center and received contrast-enhanced imaging. CIN was defined as creatinine rise of 0.5 mg/dL or greater or 25 per cent or greater from baseline within 48 hours. CIN occurred in 7.7 per cent and four patients required hemodialysis. Patients with CIN were older, had lower admission hemoglobin, higher Injury Severity Score, and received more blood products. Factors that predicted CIN included: male sex, age older than 46 years, body mass index less than 27 kg/m2, glomerular filtration rate less than 109 mL/min/1.73 m2, hemoglobin less than 12 mg/dL, hematocrit less than 36 per cent, proteinuria, 2 units or more of fresh-frozen plasma in 48 hours, and alcohol use. Odds ratio for developing CIN with two, five, or six of these factors was 3.39, 6.54, and 8.38, respectively. A match-controlled analysis for Injury Severity Score and age in patients with CIN versus non-CIN patients revealed the strongest predictor of CIN was proteinuria (relative risk, 2.5; confidence interval, 1.1 to 5.8). Although it is difficult to truly differentiate CIN from renal dysfunction related to injury severity in trauma patients, proteinuria may be an important factor in identifying nephropathy in this population.

Venous Thromboembolism in Trauma Patients

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (11) ◽  
pp. 1173-1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Om P. Sharma ◽  
Michael F. Oswanski ◽  
Rusin J. Joseph ◽  
Peter Tonui ◽  
Libby Westrick Pa-C ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Venous Thromboembolism ◽  
Injury Severity Score ◽  
Severity Score ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Vein Thrombosis ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Deep Vein

Serial venous duplex scans (VDS) were done in 507 trauma patients with at least one risk factor (RF) for venous thromboembolism (VTE) during a 2-year study period. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) was detected in 31 (6.1%) patients. This incidence was 3.1 per cent in low (1–2 RFs), 3.4 per cent in moderate (3–5 RFs), and 7.7 per cent in high (≥6 RFs) VTE scores ( P = 0.172). Incidence was statistically different (3% vs 7.2%, P = 0.048) on reanalyzing patients in two risk categories, low-risk (1–4 RFs) and high-risk (≥5 RFs). Only 4 of 16 RFs had statistically higher incidence of DVT in patients with or without RFs: previous VTE (27.3% vs 5.6%, odds ratio (OR) 6.628, P = 0.024), spinal cord injury (22.6% vs 5%, OR 5.493, P = 0.001), pelvic fractures (11.4% vs 5.1%, OR 2.373, P = 0.042), and head injury with a greater than two Abbreviated Injury Score (10.5% vs 4.2%, OR 2.639, P = 0.014). On reanalyzing patients with ≥5 RFs vs <5RFs, obesity (14.3 vs 6.1%, P = 0.007), malignancy (5.6% vs 0.6%, P = 0.006), coagulopathy (10.8% vs 1.8%, P = 0.000), and previous VTE (3.2% vs 0%, P = 0.019) were significant on univariate analysis. Patients with DVT had 3.70 ± 1.75 RFs and a 9.61 ± 4.93 VTE score, whereas, patients without DVT had 2.66 ± 1.50 RFs and a 6.83 ± 3.91 VTE score ( P = 0.000). DVTs had a direct positive relationship with higher VTE scores, length of stay, and number of VDS (>1 r, P ≤ 0.001). Increasing age was a weak risk factor (0.03 r, P = 0.5). First two VDS diagnosed 77 per cent of DVTs. Patients with injury severity score of ≥15 and 25 had higher DVTs compared with the ones with lower injury severity score levels ( P ≤ 0.05). Pulmonary embolism was silent in 63 per cent and DVTs were asymptomatic in 68 per cent.

Is Blood Sugar the Next Lactate?

2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 613-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
TherÈSe M. Duane ◽  
Tracey Dechert ◽  
Nicholas Dalesio ◽  
Luke G. Wolfe ◽  
Nicholas Dalesio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Glucose ◽  
Injury Severity Score ◽  
Blood Glucose Level ◽  
Blood Sugar ◽  
Severity Score ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Severely Injured ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Initial Blood

This study evaluates whether an initial blood glucose level is similarly predictive of injury severity and outcome as admission lactate in trauma patients. Between February 2004 and June 2005, we prospectively compared patients with presenting blood sugars of ≤150 mg/dL (LBS) with those with blood sugars >150 mg/dL (HBS). Fifty patients had BS above 150 mg/dL, whereas 176 patients were ≤150 mg/dL. These groups had similar demographics except for age. Injury Severity Score (ISS) of ≥15 was seen in 56.0 per cent of HBS patients versus 28.4 per cent of LBS patients (P = 0.0006). HBS patients had similar infection rates (12.0% HBS vs. 5.7% LBS, P = 0.13) but a higher mortality (30.0% HBS vs. 5.7% LBS, P < 0.0001). There was a linear relationship between ISS and BS (r2 = 0.18, P < 0.0001) and ISS and lactate (r2 = 0.17, P < 0.0001). Blood sugar trended with the lactate (r = 0.25, P = 0.0001). Hyperglycemic patients were more severely injured with higher mortality. BS correlated with lactate, and because it is easily obtainable, it may serve as a readily available predictor of injury severity and prognosis.

Epidemiology of Traumatic Esophageal Injury: An Analysis of the National Trauma Data Bank

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 342-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander A. Xu ◽  
Janis L. Breeze ◽  
Jessica K. Paulus ◽  
Nikolay Bugaev
Keyword(s):  
Injury Severity Score ◽  
Severity Score ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Traumatic Injury ◽  
Data Bank ◽  
Esophageal Injury ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
National Trauma ◽  
National Trauma Data Bank

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.

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