scholarly journals Undertriage of Pediatric Major Trauma Patients in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 845-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Peng ◽  
Krista Wheeler ◽  
Jonathan I. Groner ◽  
Kathryn J. Haley ◽  
Henry Xiang

Although trauma undertriage has been widely discussed in the literature, undertriage in the pediatric trauma population remains understudied. Using the 2009-2013 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, we assessed the national undertriage rate in pediatric major trauma patients (age ≤16 years and injury severity score [ISS] >15), and identified factors associated with pediatric trauma undertriage. Nationally, 21.7% of pediatric major trauma patients were undertriaged. Children living in rural areas were more likely to be undertriaged ( P = .02), as were those without insurance ( P = .00). Children with life-threatening injuries were less likely to be undertriaged ( P < .0001), as were those with chronic conditions ( P < .0001). Improving access to specialized pediatric trauma care through innovative service delivery models may reduce undertriage and improve outcomes for pediatric major trauma patients.

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashish Raju ◽  
D'Andrea K. Joseph ◽  
Cheickna Diarra ◽  
Steven E. Ross

The purpose of this study was to determine the safety and efficacy of percutaneous versus open tracheostomy in the pediatric trauma population. A retrospective chart review was conducted of all tracheostomies performed on trauma patients younger than 18 years for an 8-year period. There was no difference in the incidence of brain, chest, or facial injury between the open and percutaneous tracheostomy groups. However, the open group had a significantly lower age (14.2 vs. 15.5 years; P < 0.01) and higher injury severity score (26 vs. 21; P = 0.015). Mean time from injury to tracheostomy was 9.1 days (range, 0 to 16 days) and was not different between the two methods. The majority of open tracheostomies were performed in the operating room and, of percutaneous tracheostomies, at the bedside. Concomitant feeding tube placement did not affect complication rates. There was not a significant difference between complication rates between the two methods of tracheostomy (percutaneous one of 29; open three of 20). Percutaneous tracheostomy can be safely performed in the injured older child.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul K. McGaha ◽  
Jeremy Johnson ◽  
Tabitha Garwe ◽  
Zoona Sarwar ◽  
Prasenjeet Motghare ◽  
...  

Data for the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) related to intravenous contrast administration in the pediatric trauma population are limited. Obtaining a creatinine value before elective CT scans is a relatively accepted standard of care. We sought to determine whether there was any significant difference in the incidence of AKI between severely injured patients who received IV contrast and those who did not. We reviewed data from the trauma registry at our Level I pediatric trauma center. We limited the patients to severely injured pediatric traumas (<15 years old) directly transported from the scene of injury with a creatinine level measured on arrival. Two hundred and eleven patients were included in the study. AKI was defined by the criteria of the AKI Network. We then compared incidence of AKI in those who received a CT scan with IV contrast with those who did not receive IV contrast. The two groups were comparable in age, gender, Glasgow Coma Scale, Injury Severity Score, mean creatinine on arrival, and mean creatinine post–CT scan/arrival. There was no significant difference in AKI between the two. In a subgroup analysis of patients presenting in shock, there was no significant difference in AKI. Our study suggests that IV contrast is not associated with the development of AKI in severely injured pediatric trauma patients. Although obtaining a creatinine value before exposure is ideal, a CT scan with IV contrast in severely injured children should not be delayed to obtain a creatinine value.


Trauma ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146040862098226
Author(s):  
Will Kieffer ◽  
Daniel Michalik ◽  
Jason Bernard ◽  
Omar Bouamra ◽  
Benedict Rogers

Introduction Trauma is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, but little is known of the temporal variation in major trauma across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Proper workforce and infrastructure planning requires identification of the caseload burden and its temporal variation. Materials and Methods The Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN) database for admissions attending Major Trauma Centres (MTCs) between 1st April 2011 and 31st March 2018 was analysed. TARN records data on all trauma patients admitted to hospital who are alive at the time of admission to hospital. Major trauma was classified as an Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15. Results A total of 158,440 cases were analysed. Case ascertainment was over 95% for 2013 onwards. There was a statistically significant variation in caseload by year (p < 0.0001), times of admissions (p < 0.0001), caseload admitted during weekends vs weekdays, 53% vs 47% (p < 0.0001), caseload by season with most patients admitted during summer (p < 0.0001). The ISS varied by time of admission with most patients admitted between 1800 and 0559 (p < 0.0001), weekend vs weekday with more severely injured patients admitted during the weekend (p < 0.0001) and by season p < 0.0001). Discussion and Conclusion: There is a significant national temporal variation in major trauma workload. The reasons are complex and there are multiple theories and confounding factors to explain it. This is the largest dataset for hospitals submitting to TARN which can help guide workforce and resource allocation to further improve trauma outcomes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (12) ◽  
pp. 1272-1278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann-Leei L. Lee ◽  
Jon D. Simmons ◽  
Mark N. Gillespie ◽  
Diego F. Alvarez ◽  
Richard P. Gonzalez ◽  
...  

Achieving adequate perfusion is a key goal of treatment in severe trauma; however, tissue perfusion has classically been measured by indirect means. Direct visualization of capillary flow has been applied in sepsis, but application of this technology to the trauma population has been limited. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the efficacy of standard indirect measures of perfusion to direct imaging of the sublingual microcirculatory flow during trauma resuscitation. Patients with injury severity scores >15 were serially examined using a handheld sidestream dark-field video microscope. In addition, measurements were also made from healthy volunteers. The De Backer score, a morphometric capillary density score, and total vessel density (TVD) as cumulative vessel area within the image, were calculated using Automated Vascular Analysis (AVA3.0) software. These indices were compared against clinical and laboratory parameters of organ function and systemic metabolic status as well as mortality. Twenty severely injured patients had lower TVD (X = 14.6 ± 0.22 vs 17.66 ± 0.51) and De Backer scores (X = 9.62 ± 0.16 vs 11.55 ± 0.37) compared with healthy controls. These scores best correlated with serum lactate (TVD R2 = 0.525, De Backer R2 = 0.576, P < 0.05). Mean arterial pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, pH, bicarbonate, base deficit, hematocrit, and coagulation parameters correlated poorly with both TVD and De Backer score. Direct measurement of sublingual microvascular perfusion is technically feasible in trauma patients, and seems to provide real-time assessment of micro-circulatory perfusion. This study suggests that in severe trauma, many indirect measurements of perfusion do not correlate with microvascular perfusion. However, visualized perfusion deficiencies do reflect a shift toward anaerobic metabolism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e000672
Author(s):  
Ryan Pratt ◽  
Mete Erdogan ◽  
Robert Green ◽  
David Clark ◽  
Amanda Vinson ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe risk of death and complications after major trauma in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is higher than in the general population, but whether this association holds true among Canadian trauma patients is unknown.ObjectivesTo characterize patients with CKD/receiving dialysis within a regional major trauma cohort and compare their outcomes with patients without CKD.MethodsAll major traumas requiring hospitalization between 2006 and 2017 were identified from a provincial trauma registry in Nova Scotia, Canada. Trauma patients with stage ≥3 CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or receiving dialysis were identified by cross-referencing two regional databases for nephrology clinics and dialysis treatments. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality; secondary outcomes included hospital/intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) and ventilator-days. Cox regression was used to adjust for the effects of patient characteristics on in-hospital mortality.ResultsIn total, 6237 trauma patients were identified, of whom 4997 lived within the regional nephrology catchment area. CKD/dialysis trauma patients (n=101; 28 on dialysis) were older than patients without CKD (n=4896), with higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and had increased risk of in-hospital mortality (31% vs 11%, p<0.001). No differences were observed in injury severity, ICU LOS, or ventilator-days. After adjustment for age, sex, and injury severity, the HR for in-hospital mortality was 1.90 (95% CI 1.33 to 2.70) for CKD/dialysis compared with patients without CKD.ConclusionIndependent of injury severity, patients without CKD/dialysis have significantly increased risk of in-hospital mortality after major trauma.


Trauma ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146040862110418
Author(s):  
Annelise M Cocco ◽  
Vignesh Ratnaraj ◽  
Benjamin PT Loveday ◽  
Kellie Gumm ◽  
Phillip Antippa ◽  
...  

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.


Author(s):  
Katherine A. Kelly ◽  
Pious D. Patel ◽  
Hannah Phelps ◽  
Chevis Shannon ◽  
Harold N. Lovvorn

Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorji Harnod ◽  
Chu Hui Chang ◽  
Ray E Chang

Background: Some articles proved indirect-transfer the major trauma patients to the trauma centers had non-significant different outcomes with the patients direct-transfer to the centers. But the outcomes for the major trauma patients in the counties without trauma centers still can be worse. So we did a population based research by using the NHIRD data for the results. Methods: From the claim data of one million beneficiaries of Taiwan National Health Insurance during the year of 2006 to 2008, all of the trauma patients were identified from the database by the ICD-9-CM system. ICDMAP-90 was used for calculating the Injury Severity Score (ISS) as the variable controlling the disease severity. The patients of major trauma were defined as ISS more than fifteen. We used the diagnosis one year before the trauma admission for calculating Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). The first hospitals and the second transferred hospitals that the major trauma patients admitted, and the areas of the first hospitals were recognized in our data bank. The condition of transfer, age, genders, intubation, ICU admission, ISS, CCI, and the triage classifications were adjusted in a logistic regression model for further analysis. Results: There were 2497 major trauma patients (ISS more then 15). The total mortality rate was 12.49%. The variables like age, intubation, ICU admission, ISS and CCI were significant for mortality, but the condition of transfer was not significant in our model. After controlling all the factors, the major trauma patients that first admitted in the areas with no trauma centers have a significant higher risk of mortality (OR=1.73, P=0.005). Conclusions: Our results hint that, although indirect-transfer for the major trauma patients have insignificant difference in mortality with the direct transfer patients, the counties with no trauma centers have significant higher mortality rates in major trauma patients. Further researches are needed for investigating the possible reasons.


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.


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