Factors associated with organ donation by trauma patients in Nova Scotia.

BACKGROUND: Trauma patients represent a significant pool of potential organ donors (PODs), and previous research suggests that this population is underutilized for organ donation (OD). Our objective was to assess factors associated with OD in the trauma population. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed OD in Nova Scotia over a 7-year period (2009-2016) using data from the Nova Scotia Trauma Registry and Nova Scotia Legacy of Life Donor Registry. All trauma patients who died in the hospital were included. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with donation. We also evaluated characteristics, donation types, and reasons for nondonation among trauma PODs. RESULTS: There were 689 trauma-related deaths in all hospitals in NS during the study period, of which 39.8% (274 of 689) met the Nova Scotia Trauma Registry definition of a POD. Data on OD were available for 108 of these patients who were referred to the Legacy of Life Program. The conversion rate was 84%. Compared with nondonors, organ donors were significantly younger, had a higher Abbreviated Injury Scale head score and a lower scene Glasgow Coma Scale score, were more likely to suffer ischemia from drowning or asphyxia and to require air transport, and were less likely to have comorbidities. Regression analysis showed that donation was associated with younger age (odds ratio [OR], 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.95-0.99) and lower Glasgow Coma Scale score at the scene (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.88). Odds of donation were increased with air transport compared with land ambulance (OR, 8.27; 95% CI, 2.07-33.08) and injury within Halifax Regional Municipality compared with injury outside Halifax Regional Municipality (OR, 4.64; 95% CI, 1.42-15.10). Among the 60 referred PODs who did not donate, family refusal of consent was the most common reason (28 [46.7%] of 60). CONCLUSION: Younger age, greater severity of injury, and shorter time to tertiary care were associated with OD in trauma patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic and Epidemiological, Level III.

Organ donation by patients with and without trauma in a Canadian province: a retrospective cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: People who experience trauma represent a large pool of potential organ donors. Our objective was to describe organ donation by patients with and without trauma in Nova Scotia. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of all patients with trauma in the Nova Scotia Trauma Registry who were injured between Apr. 1, 2009, and Mar. 31, 2016, and died in hospital, as well as all potential organ donors captured in the Nova Scotia Legacy of Life Donor Registry over the same period. We compared characteristics of the 2 groups with respect to organ donation and identified reasons for nondonation. RESULTS: Overall, 940 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 689 (73.3%) had experienced trauma. Patients with trauma accounted for 37.2% (48/129) of donors. A total of 274 (39.8%) of the patients with trauma were identified as potential organ donors, and 48 (7.0%) donated organs. Only 108 (39.4%) of the 274 were referred to the Legacy of Life Program. The conversion rate (proportion of potential donors who went on to donate an organ) was 84.2% (48/57) among patients with trauma and 83.5% (81/97) among those without trauma. Donation after circulatory death occurred in 8 patients (17%) with trauma and 13 (16%) of those without trauma. Family refusal (28/60 [47%]) and medical unsuitability (16/60 [27%]) were the most common reasons for nondonation among patients with trauma. INTERPRETATION: In Nova Scotia, 40% of patients with trauma who died in hospital were potential organ donors, yet only 39% of these patients were referred for donation. More work is required to improve organ donation within the trauma population.

Organ donation in trauma victims: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although trauma patients represent a large pool of potential organ donors (PODs), the donor conversion rates (DCRs) in this population are unclear. Our primary objective was to synthesize published evidence on DCRs in trauma patients. As a secondary objective, we investigated factors that affect organ donation (OD) in the trauma population. METHODS: We searched four electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) and gray literature for articles on OD in trauma patients (PROSPERO 2017: CRD42017070388). Articles were excluded if it was not possible to calculate the DCR (actual organ donors divided by PODs). We pooled DCRs and performed subgroups analysis by trauma subpopulation, patients' age, and study publication date. RESULTS: We identified 27 articles with a total of 123,142 participants. Cohorts ranged in size from 28 to 120,512 patients (median, 132), with most studies performed in the United States. Conversion rates among individual studies ranged from 14.0% to 75.2% (median, 49.3%). All 27 studies were included in the meta-analysis. We found a pooled DCR of 48.1% using the random effects model. There was a high level of heterogeneity between studies (I = 97.4%). Upon subgroup analysis, we found DCRs were higher in head trauma patients compared with traumatic cardiac arrest patients (45.3% vs 20.9%, p < 0.001), in pediatric patients compared with adults (61.0% vs 38.0%, p = 0.018), and in studies published after 2007 compared with those published before (50.8% vs 43.9%, p < 0.001). Few studies assessed for factors associated with OD in trauma patients. CONCLUSIONS: We found variation in DCRs among trauma patients (range, 14.0-75.2%) and estimated a pooled DCR of 48.1%. Our results are limited by heterogeneity across studies, which may be attributable to differences in study design and population, definitions of a POD, and in the institutional criteria and processes regarding OD. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses level III.