Decreased Glycocalyx Shedding on Presentation in Hemorrhaging Geriatric Trauma Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Plasma levels of syndecan-1 (Sdc-1), a biomarker of endothelial glycocalyx (EG) damage, correlate with worse outcomes in trauma patients. However, EG injury is not well characterized in injured older adults (OA). The aims of this study were to characterize Sdc-1 shedding in OA trauma patients relative to younger adults (YA) and determine associations with putative regulators of EG sheddases. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of data from the Pragmatic, Randomized Optimal Platelet, and Plasma Ratios (PROPPR) trial, stratifying bluntly injured subjects into OA and YA groups based on upper age quartile (57 y). Plasma Sdc-1 levels were compared in OA and YA at hospital arrival through postinjury day 3, and the independent association between age and Sdc-1 level at arrival was determined after adjusting for differences in gender, shock index (SI), and pre-existing comorbidities. In a follow-up analysis, case-control matching was used to create populations of OA and YA with equivalent SI and injury severity score. Levels of Sdc-1 were compared between these matched groups, and the relationships with candidate regulators of EG shedding were assessed. RESULTS: Of 680 subjects in the Pragmatic, Randomized Optimal Platelet, and Plasma Ratios trial, 350 (51%) had blunt injuries, and 92 (26.3%) of these were OA. Plasma Sdc-1 levels at arrival, 2 h, and 6 h were significantly lower in OA compared to YA (all P < 0.05). After adjusting for sex, pre-existing morbidities and SI, age was associated with decreased Sdc-1 levels at arrival. In the matched analyses, Sdc-1, high-mobility group box 1 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 levels were lower in OA compared to YA. Both high-mobility group box-1 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 significantly correlated with arrival Sdc-1 and were inversely associated with age. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that increased age is independently associated with decreased Sdc-1 levels among patients with blunt injuries. Suppressed plasma levels of sheddases in relation to diminished Sdc-1 shedding suggest that mechanisms regulating EG cleavage may be impaired in injured older adults. These findings provide novel insight into the age-dependent impact of injury on the vascular endothelium, which could have important implications for the clinical management of older adults following trauma.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Prehospital Tourniquet Use for Trauma in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: The use of the extremity tourniquet in military environments has reduced preventable deaths due to exsanguinating hemorrhage, leading to increased use in civilian settings. However, the outcomes of contemporary prehospital tourniquet use in civilian settings are not well-described nationally. The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcomes following prehospital tourniquet use by emergency medical services (EMS) in the United States. METHODS: All trauma activations reported to the National EMS Information System 2019 (NEMSIS) were included. Patients who had ≥1 tourniquet applied were identified. Descriptive analyses were used to compare characteristics between tourniquet and no-tourniquet cohorts. Coarsened exact matching was performed to generate a k2k match (on age, sex, lowest-systolic blood pressure, initial patient acuity, provider's initial impression, injury mechanism, and presence of upper/lower extremity injuries) and used to compare outcomes. Trauma patients who may have potentially benefited from tourniquet application (extremity injury, shock index ≥1 and no documented tourniquet application) were identified. RESULTS: A total of 7,161 tourniquets were applied among 4,571,379 trauma activations (1.6/1000 activations). Patients in the tourniquet cohort were younger (40 ± 18 vs 52 ± 26 mean ± SD years), more hypotensive (16.1% vs. 2.5%) and had higher initial acuity (65.0% critical/emergent vs. 20.6%) [p < 0.01 for all]. A total of 7,074 patients in the tourniquet cohort were matched with 7,074 patients in the non-tourniquet cohort. Post-match analysis revealed that the patients in tourniquet cohort had a higher final acuity (80.8% vs. 75.0%, p < 0.01), lower scene-time (15.4 ± 13.6 vs. 17.0 ± 14.2 mean ± SD minutes, p < 0.01), and higher survival-to-hospital (83.6% vs. 75.1%, p < 0.01). A total of 141,471 trauma patients who may have potentially benefited from tourniquet application were identified. CONCLUSION: Prehospital tourniquet use by EMS in the United States is associated with lower scene-time and improved survivability to hospital. Results indicate that patients might benefit from wider tourniquet use in the civilian prehospital setting.

A National Assessment of Trauma Systems Using the American College of Surgeons NBATS Tool: Geographic Distribution of Trauma Center Need.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the needs based assessment of trauma systems (NBATS) tool estimates of trauma center need to the existing trauma infrastructure using observed national trauma volume. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Robust trauma systems have improved outcomes for severely injured patients. The NBATS tool was created by the American College of Surgeons to align trauma resource allocation with regional needs. METHODS: Data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases, the Trauma Information Exchange Program, and US Census was used to calculate an NBATS score for each trauma service area (TSA) as defined by the Pittsburgh Atlas. This score was used to estimate the number of trauma centers allocated to each TSA and compared to the number of existing trauma centers. RESULTS: NBATS predicts the need for 117 additional trauma centers across the United States to provide adequate access to trauma care nationwide. At least 1 additional trauma center is needed in 49% of TSAs. CONCLUSIONS: Application of the NBATS tool nationally shows the need for additional trauma infrastructure across a large segment of the United States. We identified some limitations of the NBATS tool, including preferential weighting based on current infrastructure. The NBATS tool provides a good framework to begin the national discussion around investing in the expansion of trauma systems nationally, however, in many instances lacks the granularity to drive change at the local level.

Nationwide estimates of the need for prehospital blood products after injury.

INTRODUCTION: Prehospital blood product resuscitation after injury significantly decreases risk of mortality. However, the number of patients who may potentially benefit from this life-saving intervention is currently unknown. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the number of patients who may potentially benefit from prehospital blood product resuscitation after injury in the United States. The secondary objective was to estimate the amount of blood products needed for prehospital resuscitation of injured patients. METHODS: Patients ≥16 years with blunt/penetrating injuries included in National Emergency Medical Services Information System 2019 were identified and classified into four separate cohorts of hemodynamic instability: Cohort 1 (systolic blood pressure [SBP] <90 mmHg), Cohort 2 (SBP <90 and/or heart rate [HR] >120), Cohort 3 (SBP <90 and HR >108 or SBP <70), and Cohort 4 (shock index ≥1). The need for prehospital blood was estimated by multiplying number of patients in each cohort with average number of blood products used for prehospital resuscitation. RESULTS: After exclusions, 3.7 million adult trauma patients were included. The number of patients who may potentially benefit from prehospital blood products was estimated as 89,391 (Cohort 1), 901,346 (Cohort 2), 54,160 (Cohort 3), and 300,475 (Cohort 4). Assuming 1 unit of whole blood is needed per patient, a lower-bound estimate of 54,160 additional whole blood units (0.6% of current collections) will be need for prehospital resuscitation of the injured. CONCLUSIONS: Annually, between 54,000 and 900,000 patients may potentially benefit from prehospital blood product resuscitation after injury in the United States. Prehospital blood utilization and collection of blood products will need to be increased to scale-up this life-saving intervention nationwide.

Whole truths but half the blood: Addressing the gap between the evidence and practice of pre-hospital and in-hospital blood product use for trauma resuscitation.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of using pre-hospital blood product and in-hospital whole blood for trauma resuscitation. While some observations suggest an encouraging uptake of this evidence by emergency medical service (EMS) agencies and trauma centers, a nationwide characterization of blood product utilization for bleeding trauma patients remains unknown. The objective of this study is to determine nationwide estimates of pre-hospital blood product and in-hospital whole blood utilization for trauma resuscitation. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: All adult trauma patients reported to the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) dataset 2019 were included. Proportions of patients who received any pre-hospital blood product were calculated. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Trauma Quality Programs (TQP) databases 2015-2017 and first quarter of 2020 were used to calculate the proportion of ACS-verified trauma centers that transfused whole blood. RESULTS: Among a total of 3,058,804 pre-hospital trauma patients, only 313 (0.01%) received any blood transfusion; 208 (0.21%) patients with systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≤90 mmHg and 121 (0.67%) patients with SBP ≤90 mmHg and heart rate ≥120 beats per minute received any blood product. The proportion of ACS-verified trauma centers transfusing whole blood increased from 16.7% (45/269) in 2015 to 24.5% (123/502) in first quarter of 2020. DISCUSSION: Despite strong evidence and recommendations, pre-hospital utilization of blood products for trauma resuscitation remains low. Additionally, while the overall in-hospital whole blood use also remains low, its use has increased at ACS-verified trauma centers over the past 5 years.

The Epidemiology of Pediatric Head Injury Treated Outside of Hospital Emergency Departments.

BACKGROUND: Although head trauma-related deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits are well characterized, few studies describe pediatric patients presenting outside of emergency departments. We compared the epidemiology and extent of healthcare-seeking pediatric (0-17 years) patients presenting in outpatient settings with those of patients seeking nonhospitalized emergency department care. METHODS: We used MarketScan Medicaid and commercial claims, 2004-2013, to identify patients managed in two outpatient settings (physician's offices/clinics, urgent care) and the emergency department. We then examined differences in demographic and injury-specific factors, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-defined head trauma diagnoses, the extent of and reasons for post-index visit ambulatory care use within 30/90/180 days, and annual and monthly variations in head trauma trends. Outpatient incidence rates in 2013 provided estimates of the nationwide US outpatient burden. RESULTS: A total of 1,683,097 index visits were included, representing a nationwide burden in 2013 of 844,660 outpatient cases, a number that encompassed 51% of healthcare-seeking head trauma that year and that substantially increased in magnitude from 2004 to 2013. Two-thirds (68%) were managed in outpatient settings. While demographic distributions varied with index-visit location, injury-specific factors were comparable. Seasonal spikes appeared to coincide with school sports. CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need to better understand the natural history of head trauma in the >800,000 pediatric patients presenting each year for outpatient care. These outpatient injuries, which are more than double the number of head trauma cases recorded in the hospital-affiliated settings, illustrate the potential importance of expanding inclusion criteria in surveillance and prevention efforts designed to address this critical issue.

The Transition to Data-Driven Quality Metrics: Determining the Optimal Surveillance Period for Complications After Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Thirty-day complications frequently serve in the surgical literature as a quality indicator. This metric is not meant to capture the full array of complication resulting from surgical intervention. However, this period is largely based on convention, with little evidence to support it. This study sought to determine the optimal surveillance period for postsurgical complications, defined as the shortest period that also encompassed the highest proportion of postsurgical adverse events. METHODS: TRICARE data (2006-2014) were queried for adult (18-64 y) patients who underwent one of 11 surgical procedures. Patients were assessed for complications up to 90 d after surgery. Kaplan-Meier curves, linear spline regression models at each incremental postsurgical day, and adjusted R-squared values were used to identify critical time point cutoffs for the surveillance of complications. Optimal length of surveillance was defined as the postsurgical day on which the model demonstrated the highest R-squared value. A supplemental analysis considered these measures for orthopedic and general surgical procedures. RESULTS: One lakh ninety-eight patients met the inclusion criteria. A total of 21.8% patients experienced at least one complication during the follow-up period, with 59% occurring within the first 15 d. Kaplan-Meier curves for complications showed a demonstrable inflection before 20 d and 14-15 d possessed the highest R-squared values. CONCLUSIONS: In this analysis, the optimal surveillance period for postsurgical complications was 15 d. While the conventional 30-d period may still be appropriate for a variety of reasons, the shorter interval identified here may represent a superior quality measure specific to surgical practice.

Explaining the Paradoxical Age-based Racial Disparities in Survival After Trauma: The Role of the Treating Facility.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to determine if differences in outcomes at treating facilities can help explain these age-based racial disparities in survival after trauma. BACKGROUND: It has been previously demonstrated that racial disparities in survival after trauma are dependent on age. For patients younger than 65 years, blacks had an increased odds of mortality compared with whites, but among patients 65 years or older the opposite association was found. METHODS: Data on white and black trauma patients were extracted from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2003-2009) using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes. Standardized observed-to-expected mortality ratios were calculated for individual treating facilities, adjusting for age, sex, insurance status, mechanism of injury, overall injury severity, head injury severity, and comorbid conditions. Observed-to-expected ratios were used to benchmark facilities as high-, average-, or low-performing facilities. Proportions and survival outcomes of younger (range, 16-64 years) and older (≥65 years) patients admitted within each performance stratum were compared. RESULTS: A total of 934,476 patients from 1137 facilities (8.3% high-performing, 85% average-performing, and 6.7% low-performing) were analyzed. Younger black patients had a higher adjusted odds of mortality compared with younger white patients [odds ratio, 1.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-1.27], whereas older black patients had a lower odds of mortality compared with older white patients [odds ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.74-88]. A significantly greater proportion of younger black patients were treated at low-performing facilities compared with both younger white patients and older black patients (49.6% vs 42.2% and 38.7%, respectively; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of all young black trauma patients are treated at low-performing facilities. However, facility-based differences do not seem to explain the paradoxical age-based racial disparities after trauma observed in the older population.

Benchmarking of trauma care worldwide: the potential value of an International Trauma Data Bank (ITDB).

BACKGROUND: National trauma registries have helped improve patient outcomes across the world. Recently, the idea of an International Trauma Data Bank (ITDB) has been suggested to establish global comparative assessments of trauma outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine whether global trauma data could be combined to perform international outcomes benchmarking. METHODS: We used observed/expected (O/E) mortality ratios to compare two trauma centers [European high-income country (HIC) and Asian lower-middle income country (LMIC)] with centers in the North American National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB). Patients (≥16 years) with blunt/penetrating injuries were included. Multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for known predictors of trauma mortality, was performed. Estimates were used to predict the expected deaths at each center and to calculate O/E mortality ratios for benchmarking. RESULTS: A total of 375,433 patients from 301 centers were included from the NTDB (2002-2010). The LMIC trauma center had 806 patients (2002-2010), whereas the HIC reported 1,003 patients (2002-2004). The most important known predictors of trauma mortality were adequately recorded in all datasets. Mortality benchmarking revealed that the HIC center performed similarly to the NTDB centers [O/E = 1.11 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.92-1.35)], whereas the LMIC center showed significantly worse survival [O/E = 1.52 (1.23-1.88)]. Subset analyses of patients with blunt or penetrating injury showed similar results. CONCLUSIONS: Using only a few key covariates, aggregated global trauma data can be used to adequately perform international trauma center benchmarking. The creation of the ITDB is feasible and recommended as it may be a pivotal step towards improving global trauma outcomes.

Using Teletrauma to Improve Access to Trauma Care in the US: A Call for Action.

Nearly 30 million, mostly rurally-located Americans lack timely access to level I or II trauma center care, resulting in inefficient resource use and potentially preventable deaths. Although significant progress has been made in the care of the injured patient over the last few decades, rural trauma patients continue to face significant challenges in accessing high quality trauma care with resultant outcomes disparities and increased expenditures associated with potentially avoidable interfacility transfers. Current mitigation strategies have not sufficiently improved access to trauma care among this population, necessitating a search for alternative strategies such as integration of telehealth for trauma care or teletrauma. Telehealth is well-established in several healthcare areas resulting in improved patient and system-level outcomes. While telehealth has been used in trauma with some success, it remains underused. Members of a 2023 ACS Committee on Trauma Spotlight Session on the role of teletrauma present an introduction to the applications, potential benefits and future directions for telehealth use in trauma care.

Societal Burden of Trauma and Disparities in Trauma Care.

Trauma imposes a significant societal burden, with injury being a leading cause of mortality worldwide. While numerical data reveal that trauma accounts for millions of deaths annually, its true impact goes beyond these figures. The toll extends to non-fatal injuries, resulting in long-term physical and mental health consequences. Moreover, injury-related health care costs and lost productivity place substantial strain on a nation's economy. Disparities in trauma care further exacerbate this burden, affecting access to timely and appropriate care across various patient populations. These disparities manifest across the entire continuum of trauma care, from prehospital to in-hospital and post-acute phases. Addressing these disparities and improving access to quality trauma care are crucial steps toward alleviating the societal burden of trauma and enhancing equitable patient outcomes.

Outcomes of patients enrolled in a prospective and randomized trial on basis of gestalt assessment or ABC score.

BACKGROUND: The Pragmatic Randomized Optimal Platelet and Plasma Ratios (PROPPR) trial rapidly enrolled patients based on an Assessment of Blood Consumption (ABC) ≥ 2 score, or physician gestalt (PG) when ABC score was <2. The objective of this study was to describe what patients were enrolled by the two methods and whether patient outcomes differed based on these enrollments. We hypothesized that there would be no differences in outcomes based on whether patients were enrolled via ABC score or PG. METHODS: Patients were enrolled with an ABC ≥ 2 or by PG when ABC was <2 by the attending trauma surgeon. We compared 1-hour, 3-hour, 6-hour, 12-hour, 18-hour, and 24-hour mortality, 30-day mortality, time to hemostasis, emergent surgical or interventional radiology procedure and the proportion of patients who required either >10 units of blood in 24 hours or >3 units in 1 hour. RESULTS: Of 680 patients, 438 (64%) were enrolled on the basis of an ABC score ≥2 and 242 (36% by PG when the ABC score was <2). Patients enrolled by PG were older (median, 44; interquartile range [IQR], 28-59; p < 0.001), more likely to be White (70.3% vs. 60.3%, p = 0.014), and more likely to have been injured by blunt mechanisms (77.3% vs. 37.2%, p < 0.001). They were also less hypotensive and less tachycardic than patients enrolled by ABC score (both p < 0.001). The groups had similar Injury Severity Scores in the ABC ≥ 2 and PG groups (26 and 27, respectively) and were equally represented (49.1% and 50.8%, respectively) in the 1:1:1 treatment arm. There were no significant differences between the ABC score and PG groups for mortality at any point. Time to hemostasis (108 for patients enrolled on basis of Gestalt, vs. 100 minutes for patients enrolled on basis of ABC score), and the proportion of patients requiring a massive transfusion (>10 units/24 hours) (44.2% vs. 47.3%), or meeting the critical administration threshold (>3 unit/1 hour) (84.7% vs. 89.5%) were similar ( p = 0.071). CONCLUSION: Early identification of trauma patients likely to require a massive transfusion is important for clinical care, resource use, and selection of patients for clinical trials. Patients enrolled in the PROPPR trial based on PG when the ABC score was <2 represented 36% of the patients and had identical outcomes to those enrolled on the basis of an ABC score of ≥2. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic and Epidemiological; Level III.

Diagnostic performance of the ABC score in the PROPPR trial.

INTRODUCTION: The Assessment of Blood Consumption (ABC) score is used to predict massive transfusions (MT). However, its diagnostic performance has not been widely examined, especially when used as an objective tool to enroll patients in multi-center clinical trials. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the ABC score in enrolling patients in the Pragmatic Randomized Optimal Platelet and Plasma Ratios (PROPPR) trial. We hypothesized the ABC score would have a similar diagnostic performance to predict the need for massive transfusion as previous studies. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of the PROPPR trial. Patients were enrolled either on the basis of an ABC score ≥2, or by Physician Gestalt, when the ABC score was <2. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values and likelihood ratios of the ABC score (≥2) for predicting MT (>10 units of red blood cells/24 h or transfusion of >3 units of red blood cells within the first hour). RESULTS: Of the 680 patients, 438 patients (64 %) had an ABC score of ≥2 and 242 (36 %) had an ABC score of <2. An ABC score of ≥2 had 66.8 % sensitivity and 37.0 % specificity for predicting the need for MT, with a PPV of 88.2 % and NPV of 13.1 %. Similarly, an ABC≥2 had 65.6 % sensitivity and 44.6 % specificity for predicting the need for >3 units RBCs in 1 hour, with a PPV of 89.5 % and NPV of 15.3 %. CONCLUSION: The ABC score had lower performance than previously reported for predicting MT, when applied to PROPPR trial patients. The performance for predicting the need for a 3-unit red blood cell transfusion (or more) in the first hour was slightly higher. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, Prognostic.

Teletrauma Use in US Emergency Departments.

Importance: Nearly 30 million predominantly rural US residents lack timely access to trauma care expertise available at level I or II trauma centers. Telehealth is an established approach to improve access to health care expertise using remote consultation; however, the prevalence of use of telehealth in trauma (teletrauma) across the US is not known. Objective: To examine the prevalence of, trends in, and factors associated with teletrauma use and adoption among US emergency departments (EDs). Design, Setting, and Participants: This survey study included data from the National Emergency Department Inventory (NEDI)-USA survey from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020. Each year, a 1-page survey was sent to the directors of nonfederal, nonspecialty EDs by mail and email up to 3 times; nonresponders were further contacted via telephone to complete the survey. Data were analyzed from January to March 2023. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was self-reported ED use of teletrauma for each year studied. Additional measures included data regarding self-reported use of any other telehealth service and ED characteristics. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess ED characteristics associated with teletrauma use in 2020 and teletrauma adoption between 2017 and 2020. Results: Of 5586 EDs in the US in 2020, 4512 had available teletrauma survey data (80.8% response rate); 379 (8.4%) of these EDs reported teletrauma use. In contrast, 2726 (60.4%) reported use of any other telehealth service. Teletrauma use (among EDs with any telehealth use) ranged between 0% in Alabama; Connecticut; Washington, DC; Indiana; New Jersey; Nevada; Oklahoma; Oregon; Rhode Island; and South Carolina to more than 60% in Arkansas (39 of 64 [60.9%]), South Dakota (31 of 41 [75.6%]), and North Dakota (30 of 35 [85.7%]). Factors associated with teletrauma use included rural location (odds ratio [OR], 2.44; 95% CI, 1.77-3.36), critical access hospital (OR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.83-3.88), and basic stroke hospital vs nonstroke hospital (OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.32-2.30) designations. Factors associated with adoption of teletrauma by 2020 included critical access hospital (OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.35-2.90) and basic stroke hospital vs nonstroke hospital (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.04-1.94) designation. Conclusion and Relevance: This survey study found that teletrauma use lagged significantly behind use of other telehealth services in US EDs in 2020. While most EDs using teletrauma were located in rural areas, there was significant state-level variation in teletrauma use. Future research is needed on how teletrauma is being used and to identify barriers to its wider implementation.

Minority trauma patients tend to cluster at trauma centers with worse-than-expected mortality: can this phenomenon help explain racial disparities in trauma outcomes?

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether minority trauma patients are more commonly treated at trauma centers (TCs) with worse observed-to-expected (O/E) survival. BACKGROUND: Racial disparities in survival after traumatic injury have been described. However, the mechanisms that lead to these inequities are not well understood. METHODS: Analysis of level I/II TCs included in the National Trauma Data Bank 2007-2010. White, Black, and Hispanic patients 16 years or older sustaining blunt/penetrating injuries with an Injury Severity Score of 9 or more were included. TCs with 50% or more Hispanic or Black patients were classified as predominantly minority TCs. Multivariate logistic regression adjusting for several patient/injury characteristics was used to predict the expected number of deaths for each TC. O/E mortality ratios were then generated and used to rank individual TCs as low (O/E <1), intermediate, or high mortality (O/E >1). RESULTS: A total of 556,720 patients from 181 TCs were analyzed; 86 TCs (48%) were classified as low mortality, 6 (3%) intermediate, and 89 (49%) as high mortality. More of the predominantly minority TCs [(82% (22/27) vs 44% (67/154)] were classified as high mortality (P < 0.001). Approximately 64% of Black patients (55,673/87,575) were treated at high-mortality TCs compared with 54% Hispanics (32,677/60,761) and 41% Whites (165,494/408,384) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Minority trauma patients are clustered at hospitals with significantly higher-than-expected mortality. Black and Hispanic patients treated at low-mortality hospitals have a significantly lower odds of death than similar patients treated at high-mortality hospitals. Differences in TC outcomes and quality of care may partially explain trauma outcomes disparities.

Epidemiology and outcomes of non-compressible torso hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Non-compressible torso hemorrhage (NCTH) is the leading cause of potentially preventable death in military trauma, but the civilian epidemiology is unknown. The aim of this study is to apply a military definition of NCTH, which incorporates anatomic and physiological criteria, to a civilian population treated at trauma centers in the US. METHODS: Patients (age >16 y) from 197 Level 1 trauma centers (approximately 95% of all US Level 1 centers) in the National Trauma Data Bank 2007-2009 that sustained a named torso vessel injury, pulmonary injury, grade IV solid organ injury, or pelvic fracture with ring disruption were included. Of these, patients with a systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg were considered to have NCTH. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify patient and injury factors associated with NCTH and mortality after adjusting for the following covariates: patient (age, gender, ethnicity, and insurance status), injury (Glasgow Coma Scale, injury type, Injury Severity Score, anatomic region), and clinical (major surgical procedure, need for transfusion, and intensive care unit admission) characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 1.8 million patients in the 2007-2009 National Trauma Data Bank, 249,505 met the anatomic criteria for non-compressible torso injury (NCTI). Of these, 20,414 (8.2%) patients had associated hemorrhage. The rate of pulmonary and torso vessel injury was similar (53.4% and 50.6%, respectively), with solid organ injury identified in 27.0% of patients and pelvic injury in 8.9%. The overall mortality rate of patients with NCTI and NCTH was 6.8% and 44.6%, respectively. The most lethal injury was major torso vessel injury (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.33-1.78), followed by pulmonary injury (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.18-1.48). Lower mortality was found in patients with pelvic injury (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65-0.98). CONCLUSIONS: The military definition of NCTH can be usefully applied to civilians to identify patients with lethal injuries and high resource needs. Investigating the implications of NCTH on patient triage is recommended.

Counting the lives lost: how many black trauma deaths are attributable to disparities?

BACKGROUND: The number of black trauma deaths attributable to racial disparities is unknown. The objective of this study was to quantify the excess mortality experienced by black patients given disparities in the risk of mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients aged 16-65 y with blunt and penetrating injuries, who were included in the National Trauma Data Bank from 2007-2010. Generalized linear modeling estimated the relative risk of death for black patients versus white patients, adjusting for known confounders. This analysis determined the difference in the observed number of black trauma deaths at Level I and II centers and the expected number of deaths if the risk of mortality for black patients had been equivalent to that of white patients. RESULTS: A total of 1.06 million patients were included. Among patients with blunt and penetrating injuries at Level I trauma centers, white males and females had a relative risk of death of 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80-0.85) and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.74-0.83), respectively, compared with black patients. Similarly, at Level II trauma centers, white males and females had a relative risk of death of 0.84 (95% CI, 0.80-0.88) and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.73-0.91). Overall, of the estimated 41,613 deaths that occurred at Level I and II centers, 2206 (5.3%) were excess deaths among black patients. CONCLUSIONS: Over a 4-y period, approximately 5% of trauma center deaths could be attributed to racial disparities in trauma outcomes. These data underscore the need to better understand and intervene against the mechanisms that lead to trauma outcomes disparities.

Increased risk of pneumonia among ventilated patients with traumatic brain injury: every day counts!

BACKGROUND: Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently require mechanical ventilation (MV). The objective of this study was to examine the association between time spent on MV and the development of pneumonia among patients with TBI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients older than 18 y with head abbreviated injury scale (AIS) scores coded 1-6 requiring MV in the National Trauma Data Bank 2007-2010 data set were included. The study was limited to hospitals reporting pneumonia cases. AIS scores were calculated using ICDMAP-90 software. Patients with injuries in any other region with AIS score >3, significant burns, or a hospital length of stay >30 d were excluded. A generalized linear model was used to determine the approximate relative risk of developing all-cause pneumonia (aspiration pneumonia, ventilator-associated pneumonia [VAP], and infectious pneumonia identified by the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, diagnosis code) for each day of MV, controlling for age, gender, Glasgow coma scale motor score, comorbidity (Charlson comorbidity index) score, insurance status, and injury type and severity. RESULTS: Among the 24,525 patients with TBI who required MV included in this study, 1593 (6.5%) developed all-cause pneumonia. After controlling for demographic and injury factors, each additional day on the ventilator was associated with a 7% increase in the risk of pneumonia (risk ratio 1.07, 95% confidence interval 1.07-1.08). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who have sustained TBIs and require MV are at higher risk for VAP than individuals extubated earlier; therefore, shortening MV exposure will likely reduce the risk of VAP. As patients with TBI frequently require MV because of neurologic impairment, it is key to develop aggressive strategies to expedite ventilator independence.

National cost of trauma care by payer status.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have described the burden of trauma care, but few have explored the economic burden of trauma inpatient costs from a payer's perspective or highlighted the differences in the average costs per person by payer status. The present study provides a conservative inpatient national trauma cost estimate and describes the variation in average inpatient trauma cost by payer status. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients who had received trauma care at hospitals in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2005-2010 was conducted. Our sample patients were selected using the appropriate "International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification" codes to identify admissions due to traumatic injury. The data were weighted to provide national population estimates, and all cost and charges were converted to 2010 US dollar equivalents. Generalized linear models were used to describe the costs by payer status, adjusting for patient characteristics, such as age, gender, and race, and hospital characteristics, such as location, teaching status, and patient case mix. RESULTS: A total of 2,542,551 patients were eligible for the present study, with the payer status as follows: 672,960 patients (26.47%) with private insurance, 1,244,817 (48.96%) with Medicare, 262,256 (10.31%) with Medicaid, 195,056 (7.67%) with self-pay, 18,506 (0.73%) with no charge, and 150,956 (5.94%) with other types of insurance. The estimated yearly trauma inpatient cost burden was highest for Medicare at $17,551,393,082 (46.79%), followed by private insurance ($10,772,025,421 [28.72%]), Medicaid ($3,711,686,012 [9.89%], self-pay ($2,831,438,460 [7.55%]), and other payer types ($2,370,187,494 [6.32%]. The estimated yearly trauma inpatient cost burden was $274,598,190 (0.73%) for patients who were not charged for their inpatient trauma treatment. Our adjusted national inpatient trauma yearly costs were estimated at $37,511,328,659 US dollars. Privately insured patients had a significantly higher mean cost per person than did the Medicare, Medicaid, self-pay, or no charge patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study have demonstrated that the distribution of trauma burden across payers is significantly different from that of the overall healthcare system and suggest that although the burden of trauma is high, the burden of self-pay or nonreimbursed inpatient services is actually lower than that of overall medical care.