Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury: Ethnicity, Documentation, and Insurance Status.

OBJECTIVES: Disparities in traumatic brain injury outcomes for ethnic minorities and the uninsured have previously been demonstrated; however, outcomes in undocumented immigrants have not been examined. We wanted to determine whether ethnicity, insurance, and documentation status served as risk factors for disparities in traumatic brain injury outcomes between undocumented immigrants and documented residents. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Patients diagnosed with traumatic brain injury admitted to the surgical/trauma ICU at a level 1 trauma center serving a large immigrant population in New York City from 2009 to 2016. PATIENTS: Four-hundred seventy-one traumatic brain injury patients requiring surgical/trauma ICU admission. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Undocumented immigrants constituted 29% of the population, were younger (39 vs 57 yr old, respectively; p < 0.0001), Hispanic (83%; p < 0.0001), and uninsured (87%; p < 0.0001). Falls resulted in the majority of traumatic brain injuries in the total population, however, undocumented immigrants were almost twice as likely to be assaulted (p = 0.0032). There was no difference in presence of midline shifts, Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Score, hypotension, hypoxia, and pupillary reactions between undocumented immigrants and documented residents. Undocumented immigrants presented with significantly more effaced basilar cisterns (p = 0.0008). There was no difference in hospital care between undocumented immigrants and documented residents as determined by emergency department to surgical/trauma ICU transfer times (p = 0.967). Undocumented immigrants were more likely to be discharged home (53% vs 33%, respectively; p = 0.0009) and less likely to be sent to rehabilitation (25% vs 32%, respectively; p = 0.0009). After adjusting length of stay and mortality for covariates, undocumented immigrants had shorter length of stay (p < 0.05) and there was no difference in hospital mortality between undocumented immigrants and documented residents. CONCLUSIONS: Undocumented immigrants with traumatic brain injuries were more likely to be younger, have shorter length of stay, and experience similar mortality rates to documented residents. Social economic status may play a role in events prior to hospitalization and likely does in disposition outcomes.

Trauma care in a multiethnic population: effects of being undocumented.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have shown that undocumented immigrants (UIs) display characteristics of having a low socioeconomic status and are primarily of ethnic minorities. These social determinants of health are known to be associated with diminished health care access and poor clinical outcomes. We therefore investigated the impact of documentation status on the clinical outcomes of patients with traumatic injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of the trauma registry at our safety net institution for all adult patients who were admitted from 2010 to 2014. UIs were identified by the absence of a valid social security number within their medical records. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the impact of documentation status on in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and the odds of rehab placement. RESULTS: 4924 trauma patients met the study criteria, of which 1050 (21.3%) were UIs. There was no significant difference in mortality rates between the two populations. Multivariate regression analyses revealed a longer average LOS and a decreased likelihood for placement in an in-patient rehabilitation facility following hospitalization for UIs, even after accounting for insurance, age, injury severity, and other possible confounders known to affect these outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: There was no association between in-hospital mortality and documentation status; however, UIs had a longer average LOS and were less likely to be placed into rehab following their hospitalization. A longer LOS and a decreased likelihood for rehabilitation placement suggest that disparities in trauma care exist for UIs, putting them at risk for worse clinical and functional outcomes.