Unseen Burden of Injury: Post-Hospitalization Mortality in Geriatric Trauma Patients.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Older adults are at risk for adverse outcomes after trauma, but little is known about post-acute survival as state and national trauma registries collect only inpatient or 30-day outcomes. This study investigates long-term, out-of-hospital mortality in geriatric trauma patients. METHODS: Level I Trauma Center registry data were matched to the US Social Security Death Index (SSDI) to determine long-term and out-of-hospital outcomes of older patients. Blunt trauma patients aged ≥65 were identified from 2009 to 2015 in an American College of Surgeons Level 1 Trauma Center registry, n = 6289 patients with an age range 65-105 years, mean age 78.5 ± 8.4 years. Dates of death were queried using social security numbers and unique patient identifiers. Demographics, injury, treatments, and outcomes were compared using descriptive and univariate statistics. RESULTS: Of 6289 geriatric trauma patients, 505 (8.0%) died as an inpatient following trauma. Fall was the most common mechanism of injury (n = 4757, 76%) with mortality rate of 46.5% at long-term follow-up; motor vehicle crash (MVC) (n = 1212, 19%) had long-term mortality of 27.6%. Overall, 24.1% of patients died within 1 year of trauma. Only 8 of 488 patients who died between 1 and 6 months post-trauma were inpatient. Mortality rate varied by discharge location: 25.1% home, 36.4% acute rehabilitation, and 51.5% skilled nursing facility, P < .0001. CONCLUSION: Inpatient and 30-day mortality rates in national outcome registries fail to fully capture the burden of trauma on older patients. Though 92% of geriatric trauma patients survived to discharge, almost one-quarter had died by 1 year following their injuries.

Trauma attending physician continuity: does it make a difference?

Continuity of care is important in achieving optimal outcomes in trauma patients, but the optimal length of the trauma attending (TA) rotation is unknown. We hypothesize that longer TA rotations provide greater continuity, and therefore improve outcomes. We did a retrospective comparison of trauma patient outcomes from two consecutive 6-month periods during which we transitioned from a 1-month TA rotation to a 1-week TA rotation. The Wilcoxon rank sum test, and the chi2 were used for statistical analysis. Over the 12-month study period 1924 patients were admitted to the Trauma Service. The two groups were similar with regard to age, gender, injury mechanism, Injury Severity Score and Glasgow Coma Scale scores, and Abbreviated Injury Scores for the chest, abdomen, and extremities. Although mortality, patient charges, and violations of the standard of care were similar between the two groups, overall morbidity was lower (18.6% vs. 23.2%), and hospital length of stay higher (9.07 days vs. 8.41 days) in the 1-week TA group compared with the 1-month TA group. A one-week TA rotation was associated with a longer hospital length of stay, but improved morbidity. Longer TA rotations do not necessarily provide improved continuity or improved outcomes.

Wasted hospital days impair the value of length-of-stay variables in the quality assessment of trauma care.

Hospital length of stay (LOS) is frequently used to evaluate the quality of trauma care but LOS may be impacted by nonmedical factors as well. We reviewed our experience with delays in patient discharge to determine its financial consequences and its impact on LOS. We performed an analysis of linked trauma registry and "delayed discharge" databases. Actual LOS (A-LOS) values were compared with calculated ideal LOS (I-LOS) values, and the per cent increase in LOS was calculated. Linear regression analysis was used to identify significant predictors of prolonged LOS. One thousand, five hundred and seventeen patients were studied, with an A-LOS of 6.54 days. Seven per cent of patients experienced discharge delays, resulting in 580 excess hospital days. Calculated I-LOS was 6.15 days, 6.34 per cent lower than A-LOS. Other I-LOS estimates were as much as 25 per cent lower than A-LOS. Estimated excess patient charges associated with delayed discharges were $4,000,000 to $15,000,000. Discharge delays are an infrequent, although costly, occurrence that has a significant impact on LOS. LOS therefore may not be an appropriate metric for assessing the quality of trauma care, and should only be used if it has been corrected for discharge delays. Concerted efforts should be directed towards identifying and correcting the factors responsible for delayed discharge in trauma patients.