Firework injuries remain high in years after legalisation: its impact on children.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the impact of Senate Bill 489 passed in May 2017, allowing the sale and use of fireworks in Iowa 1 June to 8 July and 10 December to 3 January, on hospital presentations for firework injuries in the state. To identify the public health implications of this law, we conducted a detailed subanalysis of hospital presentations to the two level I trauma centres. METHODS: Hospital presentations for firework injuries from 1 June 2014 to 31 July 2019 were identified using the Iowa Hospital Admission database and registries and medical records of Iowa's two level 1 trauma centres. Trauma centres' data were reviewed to obtain demographics, injury information and hospital course. Prefirework and postfirework legalisation state data were compared using negative binomial regression analysis. Trauma centre data detailing injuries were compared using χ2 and Mann-Whitney U tests as appropriate. RESULTS: Emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions for firework injuries increased in Iowa post-legalisation (B-estimate=0.598±0.073, p<0.001 and B-estimate=0.612±0.322, p=0.058, respectively). ED visits increased postlegalisation in July (73.6% vs 64.5%; p=0.008), reflecting an increase in paediatric admissions (81.8% vs 62.5%; p=0.006). Trauma centres' data showed similar trends. The most common injury site across both study periods was the hands (48.5%), followed by the eyes (34.3%) and face (28.3%). Amputations increased from 0 prelegalisation to 16.2% postlegalisation. CONCLUSION: Firework legalisation led to an increase in the number of admissions and more severe injuries.

Do In-Hospital Rothman Index Scores Predict Postdischarge Adverse Events and Discharge Location After Total Knee Arthroplasty?

BACKGROUND: There have been efforts to reduce adverse events and unplanned readmissions after total joint arthroplasty. The Rothman Index (RI) is a real-time, composite measure of medical acuity for hospitalized patients. We aimed to examine the association among in-hospital RI scores and complications, readmissions, and discharge location after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We hypothesized that RI scores could be used to predict the outcomes of interest. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of an institutional database of elective, primary TKA from July 2018 until December 2019. Complications and readmissions were defined per Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Analysis included multivariate regression, computation of the area under the curve (AUC), and the Youden Index to set RI thresholds. RESULTS: The study cohort's (n = 957) complications (2.4%), readmissions (3.6%), and nonhome discharge (13.7%) were reported. All RI metrics (minimum, maximum, last, mean, range, 25th%, and 75th%) were significantly associated with increased odds of readmission and home discharge (all P < .05). RI scores were not significantly associated with complications. The optimal RI thresholds for increased risk of readmission were last ≤ 71 (AUC = 0.65), mean ≤ 67 (AUC = 0.66), or maximum ≤ 80 (AUC = 0.63). The optimal RI thresholds for increased risk of home discharge were minimum ≥ 53 (AUC = 0.65), mean ≥ 69 (AUC = 0.65), or maximum ≥ 81 (AUC = 0.60). CONCLUSION: RI values may be used to predict readmission or home discharge after TKA.

Frailty in mid-life predicts outcome following trauma.

PURPOSE: Midlife adults (50-64 y) are at risk for falls and subsequent injury; yet current guidance on fall screening only pertains to older adults (> 65 y). Herein, we evaluated whether frailty was predictive of readmission for falls in midlife trauma patients. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study of trauma midlife patients admitted for traumatic injuries from 2010 to 2015. Demographics, injury data, fall history, and post-index readmission for falls were collected from medical records. Frailty scores were calculated retrospectively using the Canadian Study of Health and Aging Clinical Frailty Scale (CSHA-CFS). The association between frailty and outcomes was assessed. p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 326 midlife patients were included, 54% were considered fit, 33.7% pre-frail, and 12.3% frail. Compared to their fit and pre-frail counterparts, frail patients were more likely to be female (67.5% vs. 46.3% vs. 36.3%, p < 0.001), have a history of fall (22.5% vs. 15.5% vs. 6.2%, p < 0.001), and to have suffered a ground level fall on index admission (52.5% vs. 20% vs. 5.7%, p < 0.001). Controlling for age, BMI, gender, race, and fall history, frailty was associated with readmission of midlife adults for falls (OR = 1.82 [1.23-2.69]; p = 0.003) and discharge to skilled nursing facilities (OR = 26.86 [8.03-89.81], p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pre-injury frailty may be an effective tool to predict risk of readmission for fall and discharge disposition in midlife trauma patients.