Complication reporting in trauma: An environmental scan and comparison of nationwide trauma registry data.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To explore variability in quality measurement, this study aimed to compare abstraction and definitions of complications reported across trauma registries in Canada. METHODS: A literature search was performed to identify active trauma registries used in Canadian hospitals. Registry characteristics, data abstraction, and reported complications and definitions based on registry data dictionaries were compared. RESULTS: Nine registries were included, most of which were provincial-level registries (67 â€‹%). A total of 53 individual complications were identified. Twenty-one (40 â€‹%) were recorded by only one registry each whereas 5 (9 â€‹%) were collected by all. Of the 32 complications collected by â€‹> â€‹1 registry, 18 (56 â€‹%) had different definitions. Of the 18 with different definitions, 12 (67 â€‹%), 5 (28 â€‹%), and 1 (6 â€‹%) had 2, 3, and 4 different definitions across registries, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Complications reported by trauma registries are variable. Reliable benchmarking is likely challenging, and efforts to standardize complication reporting may be a valuable undertaking.