Survival outcomes after traumatic brain injury during national academic meeting days in Japan

Surgeons and medical staff attend academic meetings several times a year. However, there is insufficient evidence on the influence of the “meeting effect” on traumatic brain injury (TBI) treatments and outcomes. Using the Japan Trauma Data Bank, we analyzed the data of TBI patients admitted to the hospital from 2004 to 2018 during the national academic meeting days of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine, the Japanese Association for the surgery of trauma, the Japan Society of Neurotraumatology and the Japan Neurosurgical Society. The data of these patients were compared with those of TBI patients admitted 1 week before and after the meetings. The primary outcome was in-hospital death. We included 7320 patients in our analyses, with 5139 and 2181 patients admitted during the non-meeting and meeting days, respectively; their in-hospital mortality rates were 15.7% and 14.5%, respectively. No significant differences in in-hospital mortality were found (adjusted odds ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.78–1.11). In addition, there were no significant differences in in-hospital mortality during the meeting and non-meeting days by the type of national meeting. In Japan, it is acceptable for medical professionals involved in TBI treatments to attend national academic meetings without impacting the outcomes of TBI patients.

Delayed embolization associated with increased mortality in pelvic fracture with hemodynamic stability at hospital arrival

Background Embolization is widely used for controlling arterial hemorrhage associated with pelvic fracture. However, the effect of a delay in embolization among hemodynamically stable patients at hospital arrival with a pelvic fracture is unknown. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the association between the time to embolization and mortality in hemodynamically stable patients at hospital arrival with a pelvic fracture. Methods A multicenter, retrospective cohort study was undertaken using data from the Japan Trauma Data Bank between 2004 and 2018. Hemodynamically, stable patients with a pelvic fracture who underwent an embolization within 3 h were divided into six groups of 30-min blocks of time until pelvic embolization (0–30, 30–60, 60–90, 90–120, 120–150, and 150–180 min). We compared the adjusted 30-day mortality rate according to time to embolization. Results We studied 620 hemodynamically stable patients with a pelvic fracture who underwent pelvic embolization within 3 h of hemorrhage. The median age was 68 (48–79) years and 55% were male. The median injury severity score was 26 (18–38). Thirty-day mortality was 8.9% (55/620) and 24-h mortality was 4.2% (26/619). A Cochran–Armitage test showed that a 30-min delay for embolization was associated with increased 30-day (p = 0.0186) and 24-hour (p = 0.033) mortality. Mortality within 0–30 min to embolization was 0%. The adjusted 30-day mortality rate increased with delayed embolization and was up to 17.0% (10.2–23.9) for the 150–180 min group. Conclusion Delayed embolization was associated with increased mortality in pelvic fracture with hemodynamic stability at hospital arrival. When you decide to embolize pelvic fracture patients, the earlier embolization may be desirable to promote improved survival regardless of hemodynamics.

Delayed Embolization Associated With Increased Mortality in Patients With Hemodynamically Stable Pelvic Fracture

Background: Embolization is widely used for controlling arterial hemorrhage associated with pelvic fracture. However, the effect of a delay in embolization among hemodynamically stable patients with pelvic fracture is unknown. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the association between the time to embolization and mortality in hemodynamically stable patients with a pelvic fracture.Methods: A multicenter, retrospective cohort study was undertaken using data from the Japan Trauma Data Bank from between 2004 and 2018. Hemodynamically stable patients with pelvic fracture who underwent an embolization within 3 h were divided into six groups of 30-min blocks of time until pelvic embolization (0–30, 30–60, 60–90, 90–120, 120–150, and 150–180 min). We compared the adjusted 30-day mortality rate according to time to embolization. Results: We studied 620 hemodynamically stable patients with a pelvic fracture who underwent pelvic embolization within 3 h of hemorrhage. The median age was 68 (48–79) years and 55% were male. The median injury severity score was 26 (18–38). Thirty-day mortality was 8.9% (55/620) and 24-hour mortality was 4.2% (26/619). A Cochran–Armitage test showed that a 30-min delay for embolization was associated with increased 30-day (p = 0.0186) and 24-hour (p = 0.033) mortality. Mortality within 0–30 min to embolization was 0%. The adjusted 30-day mortality rate increased with delayed embolization and was up to 17.0% (10.2–23.9) for the 150–180 min group. Conclusion: Delayed embolization was associated with increased mortality among hemodynamically stable patients with pelvic fracture. Early identification and embolization reduced mortality in such patients.

Association of body temperature with in-hospital mortality among paediatric trauma patients: an analysis of a nationwide observational trauma database in Japan

ObjectivesTo examine the association between body temperature (BT) on hospital arrival and in-hospital mortality among paediatric trauma patients.DesignA retrospective cohort study.SettingJapan Trauma Data Bank (JTDB, which is a nationwide, prospective, observational trauma registry with data from 235 hospitals).ParticipantsPaediatric trauma patients <16 years old who were transferred directly from the scene of injury to the hospital and registered in the JTDB from January 2004 to December 2017 were included. We excluded patients >16 years old and those who developed cardiac arrest before or on hospital arrival.Primary outcomeThe association between BT on hospital arrival and in-hospital mortality. We conducted multivariate logistic regression analyses to calculate the adjusted ORs, with their 95% CIs, of the association between BT and in-hospital mortality.ResultsA total of 9012 patients were included (median age: 9 years (IQR, 6.0–13.0 years), mortality: 2.5% (mortality number was 226 in total 9012 patients)). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the corresponding adjusted ORs of BT <36.0°C and BT ≥37.0°C, relative to a BT of 36°C–36.9°C, for in-hospital mortality were 2.83 (95% CI: 1.85 to 4.33) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.53 to 1.63), respectively.ConclusionsIn paediatric patients with hypothermia (BT <36.0°C) on hospital arrival, a clear association with in-hospital mortality was observed; no such association was observed between higher BT values (≥37.0°C) and outcomes.

Assessment of Blood Consumption score for pediatrics (ped-ABC score) predicts transfusion requirements for children with trauma.

Background Although transfusion is one of primary life-saving elements, the assessment of requirement for transfusion in children with trauma at an early phase has been challenging. We aimed to develop a scoring system for predicting transfusion requirements in children with trauma. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study, which employed a nationwide registry of patients with trauma (Japan Trauma Data Bank) and included the patients aged < 16 years with blunt trauma between 2004 and 2015. An Assessment of Blood Consumption score for pediatrics (ped-ABC score) was developed based on previous literatures and clinical relevance. One point was assigned for each of the following criteria: systolic blood pressure ≤ 90 mmHg; heart rate ≥ 120/min; Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) < 15; and positive result on focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) scan. For sensitivity analysis, we assessed age-adjusted ped-ABC scores using cut-off points for different ages. Results In total, 540 patients had transfusion within 24 hours after trauma among the eligible 5,943 pediatric patients with trauma. The in-hospital mortality rate was 2.6% (145/5,615). Transfusion increased from 7.6% (430/5,631) to 35.3% (110/312) in patients with systolic blood pressure ≤ 90 mmHg (1 point); from 6.1% (276/4,504) to 18.3% (264/1,439) for heart rate ≥ 120/min (1 point); from 4.1% (130/3,198) to 14.9% (410/2,745) for disturbance of consciousness with GCS < 15 (1 point); and from 7.4% (400/5,380) to 24.9% (140/563) for FAST positivity (1 point). The ped-ABC score of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 points were associated with the transfusion rates of 2.2% (48/2,210), 7.5% (198/2,628), 19.8% (181/912), 53.3% (88/165), and 89.3% (25/28), respectively. After age adjustment, c-statistic was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.74–0.78). Conclusions The ped-ABC score using the vital signs and FAST may be helpful in predicting the transfusion requirements within 24 hours for children with trauma.