Epidemiological comparison between the Navarra Major Trauma Registry and the German Trauma Registry (TR-DGU®).

BACKGROUND: International benchmarking can help identify trauma system performance issues and determine the extent to which other countries also experience these. When problems are identified, countries can look to high performers for insight into possible responses. The objective of this study was to compare the treatment and outcome of severely injured patients in Germany and Navarra, Spain. METHODS: Data collected, from 2010 to 2013, in the Navarra Major Trauma Registry (NMTR) and the TraumaRegister DGU® (TR-DGU) were compared. Both registries followed the Utstein Trauma Template (European Core Dataset) for documentation of trauma patients. Adult patients (≥ 16 years) with New Injury Severity Score (NISS) being >15 points were included in this study. Patients who had been admitted to the hospital later than 24 h after the trauma, had been pronounced dead before hospital arrival, or had been injured by hanging, drowning or burns, were excluded. Demographic data, injury data, prehospital data, hospital treatment data, time intervals, and outcome were compared. The expected mortality was calculated using the Revised Injury Severity Classification score II (RISC II). RESULTS: A total of 646 and 43,110 patients were included in the outcome analysis from NMTR and TR-DGU, respectively. The difference between observed and expected mortality was -0.4% (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] 0.97; 95% CI 0.93-1.04) in Germany and 1.6% (SMR 1.08; 95% CI: 1.02-1.14) in Navarra. Differences in the characteristics of trauma patients and trauma systems between the regions were noted. CONCLUSION: The higher observed mortality in Navarra is consistent with the epidemiological characteristics of its population. However, to improve the quality of trauma care in the Navarra trauma system, certain improvements are necessary. There were less young adults with severe injuries in Navarra than in Germany. It is possible to compare data of severely injured patients from different countries if standardized registries are used.

[Scales for predicting outcome after severe trauma]. / Escalas para predicción de resultados tras traumatismo grave.

In this article we review the development of the most-used scales for severe trauma patients over the past 40 years. It is well known that anatomical scales are effective for measuring the severity of injuries and for predicting results. Physiological scales measure the dynamic component after trauma, with a great influence on the prognosis of injured patients. Metabolic scales, both lactate and base deficit, are reflections of tissue hypoperfusion states and therefore shock. The combined scales are used for prediction and comparative assessment of results. The inclusion of factors that influence the prognosis of trauma patients has led to the development of new scales. However, they lack external validation studies for their widespread use. Until these validation studies are conducted caution should be taken with the use of existing scales.

[Influence of prehospital response times in the survival of trauma patients in Navarre]. / Influencia de los tiempos de respuesta prehospitalarios en la supervivencia de los pacientes politraumatizados en Navarra.

The relation between response times and mortality of polytrauma patients in the so-called "golden hour" continues to be a subject of debate. The purpose of this study is to determine the variables related to mortality in these patients and the influence of response times of the Emergency Medical Services in this mortality. To this end, the data in the "Major Trauma of Navarre" Register (retrospective cohort of polytrauma patients attended to by the Navarre Health Service) were analyzed for the four year period between 2010 and 2013. Of the 217 trauma cases available for the analysis, 42 (19%) died. No significant association was found in the multi-variate analysis between the different response times and mortality: arrival at the scene (odds ratio (OR) 1.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) from 0.99 to 1.01), in the scenario (OR 1.00; 95% CI from 0.98 to 1.02) and total time (OR 1.00; 95% CI from 0.99 to 1.01). The variables that influenced mortality are patient age and severity of injuries measured by the prehospital Triage-Revised Trauma Score (T-RTS) and the New Injury Severity Score (NISS). The mortality of polytrauma patients attended to by the emergency system in our region is influenced by age and by the intensity of the aggression suffered, determined by the prehospital T-RTS and by the NISS. The response times of the hospital do not have a significant influence.

[Risk for injuries in traffic accidents among drivers under the effect of alcohol in Navarra]. / El riesgo de lesión en accidente de tráfico por conducir bajo los efectos del alcohol en Navarra.

We conducted a retrospective analysis of the levels of alcohol in the blood of a group of 54 drivers who required hospital emergency care after having suffered a traffic accident on roads in the Health Area III of Navarra (Spain) from June to September 1989, and compared them to another group of 219 drivers, not victims of traffic accidents, submitted to the breathalyser (test of alcoholaemia) on the roads of the same Health Area over the same period of time. In the group of 54 accident victims, the median alcoholaemia was 100 mg/dl, with a quartile deviation of 88 mg/dl, and the percentage of positives (alcoholaemia equal to or greater than 80 mg/dl) was 50.9%. In the group of 219 drivers not victims of traffic accidents, the median alcoholaemia was 16 mg/dl, the quartile deviation 18.5 mg/dl and the percentage of positive alcoholaemia was 1.8%. Drivers with a level of blood alcohol equal to or greater than 80 mg/dl have an estimated risk (Odds Ratio) of being injured in a traffic accident 55.82 times higher than drivers with a lower level.

[Gender differences in the treatment and outcome of patients with acute coronary syndrome in Navarre]. / Diferencias según sexo en el tratamiento y la evolución de los pacientes afectados de síndrome coronario agudo en Navarra.

BACKGROUND: Gender-based approaches have revealed the differing prevalence, incidence, progression and mortality of acute coronary disease by sex. This study aims to determine the difference by sex in the treatment and outcomes of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Navarre. METHODS: Thirty-five variables were analysed from 130 users with acute coronary disease who attended the Navarre Hospital (CHN) emergency department consecutively from January to April 2012. The dependent variable was sex and independent variables were time, treatments and final outcome of the process. RESULTS: Males accounted for 74.6% of the sample, with a mean age of 67, which was less than the mean age of 72 for the female patients (p = 0.043). The median for cardiovascular risk factors was three in men and two in women (p = 0.026). The patient delay in seeking health care was 161 minutes in men compared to 266 minutes in women (p = 0.006). Treatment via revascularization by primary angioplasty or fibrinolysis was performed in 71.6% of men and 41.2% of women (p = 0.002). A 5.9% death rate was registered for women, with no deaths among the men (p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: In Navarre, acute coronary syndrome remains more prevalent among men yet more severe in women. Treatment differs according to gender. Greater delay in seeking health care is observed among women, as is self-discharge from hospital, which may contribute to their less favourable outcomes.

[Voluntary acute drug poisoning in the health unit Navarra I, in 1989. Descriptive epidemiologic study]. / "Intoxicaciones medicamentosas agudas voluntarias--IMAV--en el área sanitaria Navarra I, durante 1989. Estudio epidemiológico descriptivo".

Acute voluntary medicinal intoxications (AVMI) constitute a serious social-medical problem, frequently related to other problems, such as drug addiction and psychopathies. By means of a prospective study of AVMI cases seen in 1989 by the Emergency Room of Internal Medicine in our Hospital, and for persons over the age of 13 in the Health Area Navarra I, we can conclude that there is an incidence of 70.4/100,000 inhabitants, with a relative and absolute majority of females and of residents in urban areas. One third of cases had psychopathological case histories, while another third have a prior history of drug and/or alcohol abuse. The majority of patients are under 30. The peristaltic data seem to have only a tenuous relationship to the onset of AVMI, which mainly occurs at night. In 85% of cases, we are able to determine the causing factor. Psychopharmaceuticals are present in more than 60% of autolytic cases, the highest frequency belonging to benzodiazepines. In our environment, there is a high percentage of admittances despite the fact that a positive outcome is reached in virtually all cases: only 1 exitus out of 103 cases.