Impact of trauma center designation in pediatric renal trauma: National Trauma Data Bank analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The pediatric kidney is the most common urinary tract organ injured in blunt abdominal trauma. Trauma care in the United States has been established into a hierarchical system verified by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Literature evaluating management of pediatric renal trauma across trauma tier designations is scarce. OBJECTIVE: To examine the differences in the management and outcomes of renal trauma in the pediatric population based on trauma level designation across the United States. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a review of the ACS - National Trauma Data Bank database. Pediatric patients (age 0-18 years) who were treated for renal injury between years 2011-2016 were identified. Our primary outcome was the difference in any complication rate amongst Level I versus Non-Level I trauma centers. Management strategies were evaluated as secondary outcomes. Propensity score matching (PSM) was utilized to adjust for baseline differences between cohorts. Multivariable regression analysis was performed to determine the independent effects of individual factors on complications, operative intervention, minimally invasive procedure, and blood transfusions. RESULTS: Overall, 12,097 pediatric patients were diagnosed with renal trauma between 2011 and 2016 using target ICD-9 and AAST codes. After PSM, there was a total of 1623 subjects withing each group. No difference was identified between groups for occurrence on any complication [105 (6.5%) vs 114 (7.0%), p = 0.576. There were no differences in the rate of minimally invasive interventions [67 (4.1%) vs 48 (3.0%), p = 0.087], operative intervention [58 (3.6%) vs 68 (4.2%), p = 0.413], or nephrectomy [42 (2.6%) vs 47 (2.9%), p = 0.667] between Level I and Non-Level I trauma designations, respectively. Length of stay was longer in the Level I cohort compared to Non-Level I (days (SD)) [6.9 (8.8) vs 6.2 (7.9), p = 0.024. When specifically looking at risk factors associated with operative intervention, higher renal injury grade and injury severity score were highly correlated, whereas, trauma level designation was not found to be predictive for more aggressive management. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION: Our results corroborate with previous literature that renal injury grade and injury severity score are strong predictors of morbidity, invasive management, and complications. Pediatric renal trauma was managed similarly across trauma center designations, with the rate of complication and intervention more prevalent in patients with high grade renal injuries and concomitant injuries. Further studies are necessary to identify patients who will benefit most from transfer to a level I center.

Preoperative Testing for Urethroplasty is Not Associated With Outcomes-A NSQIP Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the current practice of routine preoperative testing before urethroplasty and to determine if the results are clinically significant. METHODS: Data was obtained from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. We identified 1527 patients who underwent urethroplasty from 2010 to 2017. Chi-square and one-way ANOVA tests were used to compare categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were utilized to assess the rate of complications between testing groups. RESULTS: A total of 8455 individual laboratory tests were performed on 1156 patients (average of 7 tests per patient), with only 959 labs (11.3%) showing abnormal results. Of the 1156 patients, 629 (54.4%) patients had at least one abnormal lab. Patients who had at least one abnormal preoperative lab were found to be significantly older (51.49 ± 16.57 years vs 48.14 ± 16.32 years; P < .001), and to be smokers (112 [17.8%] vs 63 [12%]; P = 0.005). Additionally, they were more likely to have diabetes mellitus (112 [17.8%] vs 63 [12%]; P < 0.001), dyspnea (18 [2.9%] vs 16 [3.0%]; P = .029), and ASA class ≥3 when compared to the group with normal preoperative labs. On a multivariable logistic regression, abnormal preoperative tests were not predictive of intra- or postoperative complications in patients with ASA ≤2 (n = 1112) when adjusted for age and race. In patients with ASA class ≥3, the only lab predictive of postoperative complications was an abnormal coagulation profile. CONCLUSION: Obtaining routine preoperative labs, especially in patients with ASA ≤2, does not affect postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing urethroplasty.