Which Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Can Better Predict the Length of Hospital Stay among Traumatic Patients? A Retrospective Single-Center, Registry-Based Study.

Background: Lengthy hospitalization may lead to an increased hospital-acquired patient complication, including infections, as well as increased costs for both healthcare systems and patients. A few studies evaluated the impact of various clinical and demographic variables on patients' length of stay (LOS). Hence, in this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of various variables on traumatic patients' LOS. Methods: This is a retrospective single-center, registry-based study of traumatic patients admitted to Taleqani, a major trauma center in Kermanshah, Iran. A Minimal Dataset (MDS) was developed to retrieve traumatic data on demographic and clinical aspects. We used univariable and multiple quantile regression models to evaluate the association between independent variables, including ISS, GCS, and SBP, with LOS. LOS is practically defined as the time interval between hospital admission and discharge. The LOS durations have been presented as median (Q1 to Q3) hours. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 2708 cases were included in this study, with 1989 (73.4%) of them being male. The median LOS was 87.00 (48.00 to 144.00) hours. When adjusted for systolic blood pressure (SBP), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and cause of injury, the two characteristics of spine/back and multiple trauma were significantly associated with the higher LOS, with 43 (20.5 to 65.48) and 24 (10.39 to 37.60) hours more than extremities (P < 0.001 and P = 0.005). Besides, the patients admitted due to road traffic injuries (RTI) were discharged 16 and 41 hours later than falling and cutting/stabbing (P = 0.008 and < 0.001, respectively). Moreover, the patients with ISS≥16 and 9≤ISS≤15 had a median of 51 (21 to 80) and 34 (22 to 45) LOS hours more, compared to 1≤ISS≤8, respectively (P < 0.001). The trauma cases experiencing SBP ≤ 90 mmhg on admission had a median of 41 (20 to 62) hours more hospitalization period than those with SBP> 90 mmhg (P < 0.001). At last, the patients with GCS of 9 to 12 and GCS of 3 to 8 were hospitalized for 39 and 266 hours more than GCS of 13 to 15 (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Determining independent determinants of prolonged LOS may lead to better identifying at-risk patients on admission. Trauma care providers should consider the following risk factors for increased LOS: higher ISS, Lower GCS, and SBP, multiple trauma or spine injury, and trauma resulting from falling or cutting/stabbing. As a result, the impact of extended LOS might be reduced by intervening in the related influencing factors.

Patterns and outcomes of patients with abdominal injury: a multicenter study from Iran.

BACKGROUND: Injury is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the abdomen is the most common area of trauma after the head and extremities. Abdominal injury is often divided into two categories: blunt and penetrating injuries. This study aims to determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of these two types of abdominal injuries in patients registered with the National Trauma Registry of Iran (NTRI). METHODS: This multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted with data from the NTRI from July 24, 2016, to May 21, 2023. All abdominal trauma patients defined by the International Classification of Diseases; 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes were enrolled in this study. The inclusion criteria were one of the following: hospital length of stay (LOS) of more than 24 h, fatal injuries, and trauma patients transferred from the ICU of other hospitals. RESULTS: Among 532 patients with abdominal injuries, 420 (78.9%) had a blunt injury, and 435 (81.7%) of the victims were men. The most injured organs in blunt trauma were the spleen, with 200 (47.6%) and the liver, with 171 (40.7%) cases, respectively. Also, the colon and small intestine, with 42 (37.5%) cases, had the highest number of injuries in penetrating injuries. Blood was transfused in 103 (23.5%) of blunt injured victims and 17 (15.2%) of penetrating traumas (p = 0.03). ICU admission was significantly varied between the two groups, with 266 (63.6%) patients in the blunt group and 47 (42%) in penetrating (p < 0.001). Negative laparotomies were 21 (28%) in penetrating trauma and only 11 (7.7%) in blunt group (p < 0.001). In the multiple logistic regression model after adjusting, ISS ≥ 16 increased the chance of ICU admission 3.13 times relative to the ISS 1-8 [OR: 3.13, 95% CI (1.56 to 6.28), P = 0.001]. Another predictor was NOM, which increased ICU chance 1.75 times more than OM [OR: 1.75, 95% CI (1.17 to 2.61), p = 0.006]. Additionally, GCS 3-8 had 5.43 times more ICU admission odds than the GCS 13-15 [OR:5.43, 95%CI (1.81 to 16.25), P = 0.002] respectively. CONCLUSION: This study found that the liver and spleen are mostly damaged in blunt injuries. Also, in most cases of penetrating injuries, the colon and small intestine had the highest frequency of injuries compared to other organs. Blunt abdominal injuries caused more blood transfusions and ICU admissions. Higher ISS, lower GCS, and NOM were predictors of ICU admission in abdominal injury victims.

Comparison of nine trauma scoring systems in prediction of inhospital outcomes of pediatric trauma patients: a multicenter study.

Hereby, we aimed to comprehensively compare different scoring systems for pediatric trauma and their ability to predict in-hospital mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. The current registry-based multicenter study encompassed a comprehensive dataset of 6709 pediatric trauma patients aged ≤ 18 years from July 2016 to September 2023. To ascertain the predictive efficacy of the scoring systems, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated. A total of 720 individuals (10.7%) required admission to the ICU. The mortality rate was 1.1% (n = 72). The most predictive scoring system for in-hospital mortality was the adjusted trauma and injury severity score (aTRISS) (AUC = 0.982), followed by trauma and injury severity score (TRISS) (AUC = 0.980), new trauma and injury severity score (NTRISS) (AUC = 0.972), Glasgow coma scale (GCS) (AUC = 0.9546), revised trauma score (RTS) (AUC = 0.944), pre-hospital index (PHI) (AUC = 0.936), injury severity score (ISS) (AUC = 0.901), new injury severity score (NISS) (AUC = 0.900), and abbreviated injury scale (AIS) (AUC = 0.734). Given the predictive performance of the scoring systems for ICU admission, NTRISS had the highest predictive performance (AUC = 0.837), followed by aTRISS (AUC = 0.836), TRISS (AUC = 0.823), ISS (AUC = 0.807), NISS (AUC = 0.805), GCS (AUC = 0.735), RTS (AUC = 0.698), PHI (AUC = 0.662), and AIS (AUC = 0.651). In the present study, we concluded the superiority of the TRISS and its two derived counterparts, aTRISS and NTRISS, compared to other scoring systems, to efficiently discerning individuals who possess a heightened susceptibility to unfavorable consequences. The significance of these findings underscores the necessity of incorporating these metrics into the realm of clinical practice.

Comparison of epidemiologic features between upper and lower limb injuries and risk factors for intensive care unit admission in a university hospital affiliated with the National Trauma Registry of Iran.

PURPOSE: Upper extremity injuries (UEIs) and lower extremity injuries (LEIs) constitute a considerable component of traumas. However, their epidemiologic differences and short-term in-hospital outcomes are not fully elucidated. This study aims to compare such discrepancies in a large-scale study. METHODS: In this retrospective study, all patients with UEIs and/or LEIs hospitalized from 24th July 2016 to 16th May 2020 in Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran, and registered at the National Trauma Registry of Iran were enrolled in the study. Relevant demographic and clinical characteristics were extracted from the National Trauma Registry of Iran database. Patients were grouped into either UEI or LEI. For those with concomitant UEIs and LEIs, the more severe one based on the abbreviated injury scale was defined as the principal diagnosis. In addition, cases with the abbreviated injury scale > 3 for both UEI and LEI or concomitant injuries to body areas other than the limbs were excluded. Independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test, quintile regression models, and logistic regression models with "margins" command were used for statistical analyses, as indicated. RESULTS: In this research, 3170 eligible cases were identified. For the LEI group, there was a much higher proportion of male patients (86.7% vs. 82.0%) and higher mean age (years, 42.9 vs. 35.3) compared to the UEI group (both p < 0.001). Patients with an injury severity score (ISS) of 9 - 15 were outnumbered in the LEI group (22.9% vs. 1.6%, p < 0.001), while the proportion of those with an ISS < 9 was higher in the UEI group (98.1% vs. 76.8%, p < 0.001). The multiple logistic regression model showed a statistically significant association between intensive care unit (ICU) admission and ISS (odds ratio (OR) = 4.01 for ISS 9 - 15 vs. ISS <9, 95% confidence interval (CI)|: 3.01 - 5.35; OR = 17.65 for ISS ≥16 vs. ISS < 9, 95% CI: 4.03 - 77.27), age (OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01 - 1.03), cause of injury (OR = 0.27 for blunt trauma vs. road traffic crash, 95% CI: 0.08 - 0.90; OR = 0.49 for cut/stab injuries vs. road traffic crash, 95% CI: 0.28 - 0.84) and body region (OR = 1.65 for lower extremity, 95% CI: 1.19 - 2.29). Having adjusted for other covariates, the odds of ICU admission in patients with LEIs was 1.65 times the odds in patients with UEIs. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with LEIs were older and suffered from more severe injuries. In addition, the age- and ISS-adjusted ICU admission and length of hospital stay were significantly higher in LEI patients. The chance of ICU admission was associated with age, cause of injury, ISS, and body region. The findings of this study can aid in the meticulous selection of ICU-candidate patients. In addition, the role of factors other than ISS and age in ICU admission and prolongation of hospitalization should be addressed by prospective studies.

Insurance status and traumatized patients' outcomes: a report from the national trauma registry of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Trauma care is one of the most expensive medical procedures that is significantly affected by factors like insurance status. Providing medical care to injured patients has a significant impact on patients' prognosis. This study examined whether insurance status was associated with different outcomes, including hospital length of stay (HLOS), mortality, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. METHODS: This prospective study analyzed the data of traumatized patients who had been registered in the National Trauma Registry of Iran (NTRI), and hospitalized at Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from March 22, 2016, to February 8, 2021. Given the type of insurance, the insured patients were classified as basic, road traffic, and foreign nationality. The outcomes of in-hospital death, ICU admission, and HLOS between insured and uninsured patients, and then different insurance statuses, were compared using regression models. RESULT: A total of 5014 patients were included in the study. 49% of patients (n = 2458) had road traffic insurance, 35.2% (n = 1766) basic insurance, 10.5% (n = 528) were uninsured, and 5.2% (n = 262) had foreign nationality insurance. The mean age of patients with basic, road traffic insurance, foreign nationality, and uninsured patients was 45.2 (SD = 22.3), 37.8 (SD = 15.8), 27.8 (SD = 13.3), and 32.4 (SD = 11.9) years, respectively. There was a statistically significant association between insurance status and mean age. Based on these results, the mean age of patients with basic insurance was higher than other groups (p < 0.001). Additionally, 85.6% of the patients were male, with male to female ratio of 9.64 in road traffic insurance, 2.99 in basic insurance, 14.4 in foreign nationality, and 16 in uninsured patients. There was no statistically significant difference between in-hospital mortality in insured and uninsured patients, 98 (2.3%) vs. 12 (2.3%), respectively. The odds of in-hospital mortality in uninsured patients were 1.04 times the odds of in-hospital death in insured patients [Crude OR: 1.04, 95%CI: 0.58 to 1.90]. Multiple logistic regression showed that after adjusting for age, sex, ISS, and Cause of trauma, the odds of in-hospital death in uninsured patients were 2.97 times the odds of in-hospital death in insured patients [adjusted OR: 2.97, 95%CI: 1.43 to 6.21]. CONCLUSION: This study shows that having insurance can change the ICU admission, death, and HLOS in traumatized patients. The results of this study can provide essential data for national health policy for minimizing the disparities among different insurance statuses and proper use of medical resources.

Comparing epidemiologic features, outcomes, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of traumatic patients before and during COVID-19 pandemic: Data from the National Trauma Registry of Iran.

PURPOSE: To prepare for future possible communicable disease epidemics/pandemics, health care providers should know how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced injured patients. This study aimed to compare epidemiologic features, outcomes, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of trauma patients admitted to a university-affiliated hospital before and during the pandemic. METHODS: This retrospective study was performed on data from the National Trauma Registry of Iran. All injured patients admitted to the hospital from July 25, 2016 to March 10, 2021 were included in the study. The patients were excluded if they had hospital length of stay less than 24 h. The injury outcomes, trauma mechanisms, and therapeutic and diagnostic procedures of the 2 periods: before (from July 25, 2016 to February 18, 2020) and during (from February 19, 2020 to March 10, 2021) COVID-19 pandemic were compared. All analyses were performed using STATA version 14.0 software (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX). RESULTS: Totally, 5014 patients were included in the registry. Of them, 773 (15.4%) were registered after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic on February 19, 2020, while 4241 were registered before that. Gender, education level, and cause of injury were significantly different among the patients before and after the beginning of the pandemic (p < 0.001). In the ≤ 15 years and ≥ 65 years age groups, injuries decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.001). The frequency of intensive care unit (ICU) admission decreased from 694 (16.4%) to 88 (11.4%) (p < 0.001). The mean length of stay at the hospital (days) and at the ICU (days) declined as follow: 8.3 (SD = 17.2) vs. 5.5 (SD = 6.1), p < 0.001 and 7.5 (SD = 11.5) vs. 4.5 (SD = 6.3), p < 0.022. The frequency of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures before and during the pandemic was as follows, respectively: ultrasonography 905 (21.3%) vs. 417 (53.9%) (p < 0.001), echocardiography 313 (7.4%) vs. 107 (13.8%) (p < 0.001), angiography 1597 (37.7%) vs. 534 (69.1%) (p < 0.001), MRI 166 (3.9%) vs. 51 (6.6%) (p < 0.001), surgery 3407 (80.3%) vs. 654 (84.6%) (p < 0.001), and internal/external fixation 1215 (28.6%) vs. 336 (43.5%) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The pandemic affected the epidemiology of traumatic patients in terms of gender, age, educational level, and trauma mechanism. It changed the outcomes of injured patients: ICU admission, length of stay at the hospital and ICU decreased. The patients received more diagnostic and therapeutic procedures during the pandemic. To be more precise, more research is needed on the details.

Epidemiologic and Clinical Characteristics of Intentional Injuries among Cases Admitted to Sina Hospital: Affiliated with the National Trauma Registry of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Intentional injuries, including self-harm, suicide, conflict, and interpersonal violence are a significant public health concern in Iran, but they have not been adequately documented. This study aimed to investigate intentional injuries in cases admitted to Sina Hospital in Tehran, Iran, affiliated with the National Trauma Registry of Iran. Study Design: A retrospective cohort study. METHODS: A registry-based study on the characteristics of 852 intentional injury cases was conducted from 2016 to 2023. Information on various aspects, including baseline characteristics, injury characteristics, and injury outcomes was compared between groups of self-harm/suicide, conflict/interpersonal violence, and others (abuse and legal prosecution). RESULTS: Of 6,692 registered trauma cases, 852 (12.7%) had intentional injuries. Men accounted for 92 (77.3%) self-harm/suicide and 650 (96.4%) conflict/interpersonal violence cases (P<0.001). Self-harm/ suicide mostly occurred at home in 89 (74.8%) cases, while 73 (10.8%) conflict/interpersonal violence cases happened at home (P<0.001). Falls were the cause of trauma in 12 (10.1%) self-harm/suicide cases compared to 7 (1.0%) conflict/interpersonal violence cases (P<0.001). Furthermore, blunt trauma was the cause of trauma in one (0.8%) case of self-harm/suicide and 66 (9.8%) conflict/interpersonal violence cases (P<0.001). Moreover, 14 (11.8%) self-harm/suicide and 34 (5.0%) conflict/interpersonal violence cases required ventilation (P=0.010). Additionally, 74 (8.7%) intentional injury cases had multiple traumas, which were seen in nine (7.6%) self-harm/suicide and 58 (8.6%) conflict/interpersonal violence cases (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Men were the majority of self-harm/suicide and conflict/interpersonal violence cases. Self-harm/suicide incidents mostly occurred at home and resulted in more injuries from falls, while conflict/ interpersonal violence resulted in increased blunt traumas and multiple traumas.

Adverse Impacts of Imposing International Economic Sanctions on Health.

BACKGROUND: International economic sanctions (IES) influence a country's economic development and the overall welfare of a nation's population. METHODS: An electronic search of PubMed, Embase and Web of Science was conducted until July 31, 2019. Additionally, a list of references to related articles was reviewed. Key search terms were "Economics", "Health", "Sanction", and their equivalents with no language or time restriction. RESULTS: Totally, 8624 records were identified of which 2869 duplicates were deleted. Finally, 24 papers met the inclusion criteria and were selected for drafting. The number of papers included for evaluating each factor included healthcare (n=16) and pharmaceutical industry (n=10). Nine and eight studies examined the effect of sanctions imposed on Iran and Iraq, respectively. France, Haiti, Serbia, Cuba, Syria, and other areas such as Africa were also evaluated. Sanctions lead to a decrease in immunization rates and government health care expenditures. Sanctions increase infant and under-five mortality rate, road traffic injuries and fatalities, severe malnutrition, infective diseases, neurologic and visual disorders, as well as shortage of medical or dental instruments and a variety of medicines. Sanctions have adverse impacts on female labor and are associated with disabling hospitals, dispersing medical workers, and facilities for radiation therapy. CONCLUSION: The health status of sanctioned nations in terms of healthcare, and pharmaceutical industry was adversely affected in targeted countries.

Comparison of empathy with patients between first-year and last-year medical students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to assess the developmental factors of empathy among medical students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). METHODS: To assess the empathy levels, 42 first-year and an equal number of last-year medical students were randomly selected. They answered a questionnaire including the medical student version of the Jefferson Scale, demographic, and some related variables. Statistical analyses were performed using the Chi-square test, T-test, univariate, and multivariate regressions. RESULT: The study population consisted of 51 (60.7 %) men and 33 (39.3 %) women with a mean (SD) age of 22.24 (4.10) years. The Jefferson score was 110.19 ± 13.61 and 103.52 ± 20.00 in first- and last-year medical students, respectively. Moreover, medical students who completely passed at least one of the considered empathy courses of the TUMS curriculum had higher empathy scores compared to their counterparts (109.83 ± 15.54 vs. 103.68 ± 19.02). There was no significant association between empathy and gender, self-experience of illness, marital status, family history of chronic disease, and parents' education (all P-values > 0.05). After adjusting for the effects of confounders, the empathy scores were significantly associated with the academic year level (p = 0.04), level of interest in medicine (p = 0.001), and passing the empathy courses (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The data provided from a top Iranian medical school indicated that the academic year level, level of interest in medicine, and passing the empathy courses were significantly associated with the empathy level. Further studies are recommended.

Evaluating mechanism and severity of injuries among trauma patients admitted to Sina Hospital, the National Trauma Registry of Iran.

PURPOSE: Injuries are one of the leading causes of death and lead to a high social and financial burden. Injury patterns can vary significantly among different age groups and body regions. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between mechanism of injury, patient comorbidities and severity of injuries. METHODS: The study included trauma patients from July 2016 to June 2018, who were admitted to Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The inclusion criteria were all injured patients who had at least one of the following: hospital length of stay more than 24 h, death in hospital, and transfer from the intensive care unit of another hospital. Data collection was performed using the National Trauma Registry of Iran minimum dataset. RESULTS: The most common injury mechanism was road traffic injuries (49.0%), followed by falls (25.5%). The mean age of those who fell was significantly higher in comparison with other mechanisms (p < 0.001). Severe extremity injuries occurred more often in the fall group than in the vehicle collision group (69.0% vs. 43.5%, p < 0.001). Moreover, cases of severe multiple trauma were higher amongst vehicle collisions than injuries caused by falls (27.8% vs. 12.9%, p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Comparing falls with motor vehicle collisions, patients who fell were older and sustained more extremity injuries. Patients injured by motor vehicle collision were more likely to have sustained multiple trauma than those presenting with falls. Recognition of the relationship between mechanisms and consequences of injuries may lead to more effective interventions.

The Trend of Interpersonal Violence Mortality at National and Provincial Levels in Iran From 1990 to 2015.

Interpersonal violence (IPV) is a major public health concern with a significant impact on physical and mental health. This study was designed to evaluate age-sex-specific IPV mortality trends and the assault mechanisms (firearm, sharp objects, and other means), at national and provincial levels, in Iran. We used the Iranian Death Registration System (DRS) and the population and housing censuses in this analysis. Spatio-temporal and Gaussian Process Regression methods were used to adjust for inconsistencies at the provincial level and to integrate data from various sources. After assessing their validity, all records were reclassified according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). All ICD-10 codes were then mapped to Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2013 coding. More than 700 individuals died due to IPV in 1990 and more than twice this number in 2015. The IPV mortality age-standardized rate, per 100,000, increased from 1.62 (95% Uncertainty Interval [UI] = [0.96, 2.75]) in 1990 to 1.81 [1.15, 2.89] in 2015. Among females, the age-standardized mortality rate at national level per 100,000 due to IPV was 1.27 [0.66, 2.43] in 1990 and decreased to 1.08 [0.60, 1.96] in 2015. Among males, the age-standardized mortality rate was 1.96 [1.25, 3.09] in 1990 rising to 2.54 [1.70, 3.82] in 2015. Data from provinces revealed that during the period of our study, Hormozgan province had the largest increase of IPV among females, and Fars province had the largest increase of IPV among males. Conversely, the largest decrease was detected in West Azarbaijan and Qom provinces in females and males, respectively. This study showed a wide variation in the incidence and trends of IPV in Iran by age, sex, and location. The study has provided valuable information to reduce the burden of IPV in Iran and a means to monitor future progress through repeated analyses of the trends.

The completeness of the registration system and the economic burden of fatal injuries in Iran.

BACKGROUND: The present study aims to calculate completeness of the current registration system of fatal injuries in the legal Medicine Organization (LMO) and to estimate the economic burden of fatal injuries at the national level of Iran. METHODS: We estimated the completeness of registered fatal injuries using a three-source capture-recapture method among the Legal Medicine Organization, health departments and Traffic police in Hamedan County (HC) from June 22, 2015 to June 21, 2016. We also estimated the economic burden of fatal injuries using Years of Life Lost (YLL) during one year. Then, using appropriate statistical methods, we generalized the estimates to the national level. RESULTS: There were 487 registered fatal injuries in the LMO of HC. The male to female ratio was 2.89. Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) and suicide pertained 45 and 21 percent of deaths, respectively. The completeness of fatal injuries registration was estimated at 86.9%. Based on LMO information of HC, the percentage of fatal injuries numbering errors at the national level was estimated 1.1 times that was reported by LMO in the same period (41,936 vs. 36442). YLL and the economic burden of fatal injuries were estimated 1,706,373 years and 8,692,264,432 US$ at the national level, respectively. CONCLUSION: The completeness of the current registration system of fatal injuries is good. The economic burden of fatal injuries, especially due to motor vehicle crashes in Iran, is substantial. Strategies, legislative actions, and preventive programs should be considered to decrease the number of fatal injuries in our country.