Death or dialysis? The risk of dialysis-dependent chronic renal failure after trauma nephrectomy.

Although renal trauma is increasingly managed nonoperatively, severe renovascular injuries occasionally require nephrectomy. Long-term outcomes after trauma nephrectomy are unknown. We hypothesized that the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is minimal after trauma nephrectomy. We conducted a retrospective review of the following: 1) our university-based, urban trauma center database; 2) the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB); 3) the National Inpatient Sample (NIS); and 4) the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS). Data were compiled to estimate the risk of ESRD after trauma nephrectomy in the United States. Of the 232 patients who sustained traumatic renal injuries at our institution from 1998 to 2007, 36 (16%) underwent a nephrectomy an average of approximately four nephrectomies per year. The NTDB reported 1780 trauma nephrectomies from 2002 to 2006, an average of 356 per year. The 2005 NIS data estimated that in the United States, over 20,000 nephrectomies are performed annually for renal cell carcinoma. The USRDS annual incidence of ESRD requiring hemodialysis is over 90,000, of which 0.1 per cent (100 per year) of renal failure is the result of traumatic or surgical loss of a kidney. Considering the large number of nephrectomies performed for cancer, we estimated the risk of trauma nephrectomy causing renal failure that requires dialysis to be 0.5 per cent. National data regarding the etiology of renal failure among patients with ESRD reveal a very low incidence of trauma nephrectomy (0.5%) as a cause; therefore, nephrectomy for trauma can be performed with little concern for long-term dialysis dependence.

Timing is everything: delayed intubation is associated with increased mortality in initially stable trauma patients.

BACKGROUND: The indications for immediate intubation in trauma are not controversial, but some patients who initially appear stable later deteriorate and require intubation. We postulated that initially stable, moderately injured trauma patients who experienced delayed intubation have higher mortality than those intubated earlier. METHODS: Medical records of trauma patients intubated within 3 h of arrival in the emergency department at our university-based trauma center were reviewed. Moderately injured patients were defined as an ISS < 20. Early intubation was defined as patients intubated from 10-24 min of arrival. Delayed intubation was defined as patients intubated ≥25 min after arrival. Patients requiring immediate intubation, within 10 min of arrival, were excluded. RESULTS: From February 2006 to December 2007, 279 trauma patients were intubated in the emergency department. In moderately injured patients, mortality was higher with delayed intubation than with early intubation, 11.8% versus 1.8% (P = 0.045). Patients with delayed intubations had greater frequency of rib fractures than their early intubation counterparts, 23.5% versus 3.6% (P = 0.004). Patients in the delayed intubation group had lower rates of cervical gunshot wounds than the early intubation group, 0% versus 10.7% (P = 0.048) and a trend toward fewer of skull fractures 2.9% versus 16.1%, (P = 0.054). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that delayed intubation is associated with increased mortality in moderately injured patients who are initially stable but later require intubation and can be predicted by the presence of rib fractures.

Insurance coverage is associated with mortality after gunshot trauma.

BACKGROUND: Poor access to adequate health care coverage is associated with poor outcomes for many chronic medical conditions. We hypothesized that insurance coverage is also associated with mortality after gunshot trauma. STUDY DESIGN: The trauma records for gunshot victims and their insurance status were reviewed at our center from January 1998 to December 2007. Patient demographics (age, gender, race, and insurance coverage), injury severity, hospital care (operations and radiographic studies), and in-hospital mortality were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 2,164 gunshot trauma activations reviewed during the study period. One-quarter (n = 544) of these patients had insurance and three-quarters (n = 1,620) were uninsured. The in-hospital mortality rate was significantly higher for uninsured patients than for insured patients (9% vs 6%, p = 0.02). After controlling for age, gender, race, and injury severity by logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio for death of uninsured patients was 2.2 (95% CI 1.1 to 4.5). Insured patients did not differ from uninsured patients with respect to mean Injury Severity Score ([ISS] 12.2 +/- 10.7 vs 12.6 +/- 12.4, p = 0.56); similar percentages of patients were severely injured (ISS 16 to 24, 17% vs 15%, p = 0.19) and most severely injured (ISS > 24, 15% vs 16%, p = 0.68). Insured patients did not differ from uninsured patients with respect to use of radiographic imaging (53% vs 50%, p = 0.15) or operative intervention (37% vs 35%, p = 0.35). CONCLUSIONS: Despite similar injury severity, uninsured trauma patients were more likely to die after gunshot injury than insured patients. This difference could not be attributed to demographics or hospital resource use. Insurance coverage may reflect the many social determinants of health. Improving the social determinants of health in patients affected by violent trauma may be a step toward improving outcomes after trauma.

Despite the increasing use of nonoperative management of firearm trauma, shotgun injuries still require aggressive operative management.

BACKGROUND: The energy dissipation between gunshot and shotgun blasts is very different. Injuries from shotgun blasts vary depending on the distance of the victim from the shooter, the choke of the shotgun, the pellet load, and the wad of the ammunition. We postulated that gunshot and shotgun blasts create different injury patterns that dictate different treatment plans. METHODS: Medical records of patients with gunshot and shotgun trauma were reviewed from 1998 through 2007 at our university-based trauma center. Statistical comparisons were made via Fisher's test or t-test calculations. RESULTS: We evaluated 2833 patients injured by firearms; of these 61 had shotgun wounds (2.2%). The remainder sustained gunshot wounds. Mortality between shotgun and gunshot trauma patients was similar (7% versus 9%, respectively, P=0.8). There was no difference in the mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) (13.7+/-1.6 versus 12.9+/-0.2; P=0.6). Overall, 61% of patients underwent operative intervention after shotgun injuries versus 36% of patients with gunshot wounds (P<0.0001). Patients surviving shotgun injuries had a longer length of stay (10.1+/-2.0 d versus 5.9+/-0.21, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although the injury severity was similar, injuries from shotguns required more operations and resource utilization. Shotgun blasts can create impressive superficial injuries as well as significant deep organ damage. An aggressive operative approach to managing shotgun trauma is advantageous.