Trauma system overtriage: are we on track?

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) recommends trauma overtriage rate (OT) below 50 per cent to maximize efficiency while ensuring optimal care. This retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate OT rates in our Level I trauma center using the most recent criteria and guidelines. OT rates during a 12-month period were measured using six definitions based on combinations of Injury Severity Score (ISS), length of hospital stay (LOS, in days), procedures, and disposition after the emergency department. Reason for trauma activation was 55 per cent criteria, 16 per cent guidelines, 11 per cent paramedic judgment, five per cent no reason, and 13 per cent no documentation. OT rates ranged from 22.6 per cent (ISS less than 9, LOS 1 day or less, no consults) to 48.2 per cent (ISS less than 9, LOS 3 days or less, with procedures/consults) and were in compliance with ACS recommendations. Physiologic assessment criteria and anatomic injury had the lowest OT rates and contained all mortalities. Passenger space intrusion (PSI), pedestrian versus automobile (criterion and guideline), and extrication (guideline) all had consistently high rates of OT. We conclude that PSI should be reduced to a guideline, the pedestrian versus automobile criterion and guideline should be combined, and extrication could be removed from the triage scheme.

Selective use of computed tomography compared with routine whole body imaging in patients with blunt trauma.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Routine pan-computed tomography (CT, including of the head, neck, chest, abdomen/pelvis) has been advocated for evaluation of patients with blunt trauma based on the belief that early detection of clinically occult injuries will improve outcomes. We sought to determine whether selective imaging could decrease scan use without missing clinically important injuries. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study of 701 patients with blunt trauma at an academic trauma center. Before scanning, the most senior emergency physician and trauma surgeon independently indicated which components of pan-CT were necessary. We calculated the proportion of scans deemed unnecessary that: (a) were abnormal and resulted in a pre-defined critical action or (b) were abnormal. RESULTS: Pan-CT was performed in 600 of the patients; the remaining 101 underwent limited scanning. One or both physicians indicated a willingness to omit 35% of the individual scans. An abnormality was present in 18% of scans, including 22% of desired scans and 10% of undesired scans. Among the 95 patients who had one of the 102 undesired scans with abnormal results, 3 underwent a predefined critical action. There is disagreement among the authors about the clinical significance of the abnormalities found on the 99 undesired scans that did not lead to a critical action. CONCLUSION: Selective scanning could reduce the number of scans, missing some injuries but few critical ones. The clinical importance of injuries missed on undesired scans was subject to individual interpretation, which varied substantially among authors. This difference of opinion serves as a microcosm of the larger debate on appropriate use of expensive medical technologies.

Hips can lie: impact of excluding isolated hip fractures on external benchmarking of trauma center performance.

BACKGROUND: Trauma centers (TCs) vary in the inclusion of patients with isolated hip fractures (IHFs) in their registries. This inconsistent case ascertainment may have significant implications on the assessment of TC performance and external benchmarking efforts. METHODS: Data were derived from the National Trauma Data Bank (2007-8.1). We included patients (aged 16 years or older) with Injury Severity Score value ≥ 9 who were admitted to Level I and II TCs. To ensure data quality, we limited the study to TC that routinely reported comorbidities and Abbreviated Injury Scale codes. IHF were defined as patients, aged 65 years or older, injured as a result of falls, with Abbreviated Injury Scale codes for hip fracture and without other significant injuries. TCs were stratified according to their reported inclusion of IHF in their registry. Observed-to-expected mortality ratios were used to rank TC performance first with and then, without the inclusion of patients with IHF. RESULTS: In total, 91,152 patients in 132 TCs were identified; 5% (n = 4,448) were IHF. The proportion of IHF per TC varied significantly, ranging from 0% to 31%. When risk-adjusted mortality was evaluated, excluding patients with IHF had significant effects: 37% (n = 49) of TCs changed their performance rank by ≥ 3 (range, 1-25) and 12% of centers changed their performance quintile. The greatest change in rank performance was evident in centers that routinely include IHF in their registries. CONCLUSIONS: Given the fact that IHFs in the elderly significantly influence risk-adjusted outcomes and are variably reported by TCs, these patients should be excluded from subsequent benchmarking efforts.

Disparity in management and long-term outcomes of pediatric splenic injury in California.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of evidence-based guidelines on the disparities in management of pediatric splenic injuries (PSI). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Several studies have highlighted a disparity in the utilization of nonoperative management (NOM) for PSI based on hospital and surgeon characteristics. Whether evidence-based guidelines had an impact on mitigating this disparity is uncertain. METHODS: From 1999 to 2006, children < or = 18 years with PSI were extracted from California's Patient Discharge Database (n = 5089). Patient demographics, injury grade, immediate and delayed operations, readmissions, and complications were analyzed. RESULTS: The overall rates of immediate operative management (IOM) decreased significantly from 23% in 1999 to 15% in 2006 (P < 0.001). This decline was attributed entirely to reduction of IOM at non-children's hospitals (NCH) (29% to 20%, P < 0.001). In contrast, IOM rates were low and unchanged at children's hospital (CH) (9%, P = NS). Failed NOM (3.3%), readmissions for complications (0.6%), and operations (0.3%) were rare and unaffected by NOM increase. NCH had increased risk of IOM compared to CH in multivariate analysis (OR: 2.00, 99% CI: 1.09-3.57). The rate of delayed splenic rupture was 0.2%. There were no differences when comparing the rates of readmissions (1.0% vs. 0.4%, P = NS) and readmit operations (0.3% vs. 0.3%, P = NS) between IOM versus NOM. CONCLUSION: A steady increase in the utilization of NOM for PSI in California over time was attributed entirely to changing practices at NCH. Increasing NOM has occurred without a concurrent increase in complications. Delayed splenic ruptures were rare. Although IOM rates at NCH decreased over time, disparity in NOM utilization still exists between NCH and CH.