Clinical outcomes and end-of-life treatment in 596 patients with isolated traumatic brain injury: a retrospective comparison of two Dutch level-I trauma centers.

PURPOSE: With an increasingly older population and rise in incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI), end-of-life decisions have become frequent. This study investigated the rate of withdrawal of life sustaining treatment (WLST) and compared treatment outcomes in patients with isolated TBI in two Dutch level-I trauma centers. METHODS: From 2011 to 2016, a retrospective cohort study of patients aged ≥ 18 years with isolated moderate-to-severe TBI (Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) head ≥ 3) was conducted at the University Medical Center Rotterdam (UMC-R) and the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC-U). Demographics, radiologic injury characteristics, clinical outcomes, and functional outcomes at 3-6 months post-discharge were collected. RESULTS: The study population included 596 patients (UMC-R: n = 326; UMC-U: n = 270). There were no statistical differences in age, gender, mechanism of injury, and radiologic parameters between both institutes. UMC-R patients had a higher AIShead (UMC-R: 5 [4-5] vs. UMC-U: 4 [4-5], p < 0.001). There was no difference in the prehospital Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). However, UMC-R patients had lower GCSs in the Emergency Department and used more prehospital sedation. Total in-hospital mortality was 29% (n = 170), of which 71% (n = 123) occurred after WLST. Two percent (n = 10) remained in unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) state during follow-up. DISCUSSION: This study demonstrated a high WLST rate among deceased patients with isolated TBI. Demographics and outcomes were similar for both centers even though AIShead was significantly higher in UMC-R patients. Possibly, prehospital sedation might have influenced AIS coding. Few patients persisted in UWS. Further research is needed on WLST patients in a broader spectrum of ethics, culture, and complex medical profiles, as it is a growing practice in modern critical care. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective cohort study.

Pre-hospital tranexamic acid administration in patients with a severe hemorrhage: an evaluation after the implementation of tranexamic acid administration in the Dutch pre-hospital protocol.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the pre-hospital administration of tranexamic acid in ambulance-treated trauma patients with a severe hemorrhage after the implementation of tranexamic acid administration in the Dutch pre-hospital protocol. METHODS: All patients with a severe hemorrhage who were treated and conveyed by EMS professionals between January 2015, and December 2017, to any trauma-receiving emergency department in the eight participating trauma regions in the Netherlands, were included. A severe hemorrhage was defined as extracranial injury with > 20% body volume blood loss, an extremity amputation above the wrist or ankle, or a grade ≥ 4 visceral organ injury. The main outcome was to determine the proportion of patients with a severe hemorrhage who received pre-hospital treatment with tranexamic acid. A Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was performed to investigate the relationship between pre-hospital tranexamic acid treatment and 24 h mortality. RESULTS: A total of 477 patients had a severe hemorrhage, of whom 124 patients (26.0%) received tranexamic acid before arriving at the hospital. More than half (58.4%) of the untreated patients were suspected of a severe hemorrhage by EMS professionals. Patients treated with tranexamic acid had a significantly lower risk on 24 h mortality than untreated patients (OR 0.43 [95% CI 0.19-0.97]). CONCLUSION: Approximately a quarter of the patients with a severe hemorrhage received tranexamic acid before arriving at the hospital, while a severe hemorrhage was suspected in more than half of the non-treated patients. Severely hemorrhaging patients treated with tranexamic acid before arrival at the hospital had a lower risk to die within 24 h after injury.

Outcome of severely injured patients in a unique trauma system with 24/7 double trauma surgeon on-call service.

BACKGROUND: The presence of in-house attending trauma surgeons has improved efficiency of processes in the treatment of polytrauma patients. However, literature remains equivocal regarding the influence of the presence of in-house attendings on mortality. In our hospital there is a double trauma surgeon on-call system. In this system an in-house trauma surgeon is 24/7 backed up by a second trauma surgeon to assist with urgent surgery or multiple casualties. The aim of this study was to evaluate outcome in severely injured patients in this unique trauma system. METHODS: From 2014 to 2021, a prospective population-based cohort consisting of consecutive polytrauma patients aged ≥ 15 years requiring both urgent surgery (≤ 24h) and admission to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was investigated. Demographics, treatment, outcome parameters and pre- and in-hospital transfer times were analyzed. RESULTS: Three hundred thirteen patients with a median age of 44 years (71% male), and median Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 33 were included. Mortality rate was 19% (68% due to traumatic brain injury). All patients stayed ≤ 32 min in ED before transport to either CT or OR. Fifty-one percent of patients who needed damage control surgery (DCS) had a more deranged physiology, needed more blood products, were more quickly in OR with shorter time in OR, than patients with early definitive care (EDC). There was no difference in mortality rate between DCS and EDC patients. Fifty-six percent of patients had surgery during off-hours. There was no difference in outcome between patients who had surgery during daytime and during off-hours. Death could possibly have been prevented in 1 exsanguinating patient (1.7%). CONCLUSION: In this cohort of severely injured patients in need of urgent surgery and ICU support it was demonstrated that surgical decision making was swift and accurate with low preventable death rates. 24/7 Physical presence of a dedicated trauma team has likely contributed to these good outcomes.

Visualization of the inflammatory response to injury by neutrophil phenotype categories : Neutrophil phenotypes after trauma.

PURPOSE: The risk of infectious complications after trauma is determined by the amount of injury-related tissue damage and the resulting inflammatory response. Recently, it became possible to measure the neutrophil phenotype in a point-of-care setting. The primary goal of this study was to investigate if immunophenotype categories based on visual recognition of neutrophil subsets are applicable to interpret the inflammatory response to trauma. The secondary goal was to correlate these immunophenotype categories with patient characteristics, injury severity and risk of complications. METHODS: A cohort study was conducted with patients presented at a level 1 trauma center with injuries of any severity, who routinely underwent neutrophil phenotyping. Data generated by automated point-of-care flow cytometry were prospectively gathered. Neutrophil phenotypes categories were defined by visual assessment of two-dimensional CD16/CD62L dot plots. All patients were categorized in one of the immunophenotype categories. Thereafter, the categories were validated by multidimensional analysis of neutrophil populations, using FlowSOM. All clinical parameters and endpoints were extracted from the trauma registry. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 380 patients. Seven distinct immunophenotype Categories (0-6) were defined, that consisted of different neutrophil populations as validated by FlowSOM. Injury severity scores and risk of infectious complications increased with ascending immunophenotype Categories 3-6. Injury severity was similarly low in Categories 0-2. CONCLUSION: The distribution of neutrophil subsets that were described in phenotype categories is easily recognizable for clinicians at the bedside. Even more, multidimensional analysis demonstrated these categories to be distinct subsets of neutrophils. Identification of trauma patients at risk for infectious complications by monitoring the immunophenotype category is a further improvement of personalized and point-of-care decision-making in trauma care.

Inter-rater reliability of the Abbreviated Injury Scale scores in patients with severe head injury shows good inter-rater agreement but variability between countries. An inter-country comparison study.

INTRODUCTION: Substantial difference in mortality following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) across international trauma centers has previously been demonstrated. This could be partly attributed to variability in the severity coding of the injuries. This study evaluated the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores of patients with severe TBI across three international level I trauma centers. METHODS: A total 150 patients (50 per center) were randomly selected from each respective trauma registry: University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), the Netherlands; John Hunter Hospital (JHH), Australia; and Harborview Medical Center (HMC), the United States. Reliability between coders and trauma centers was measured with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The reliability between the coders and the original trauma registry scores was 0.50, 0.50, and 0.41 in, respectively, UMCU, JHH, and HMC. The AIS coders at UMCU scored the most AIS codes of ≥ 4. Reliability within the trauma centers was substantial in UMCU (ICC = 0.62) and HMC (ICC = 0.78) and almost perfect in JHH (ICC = 0.85). Reliability between trauma centers was 0.70 between UMCU and JHH, 0.70 between JHH and HMC, and 0.59 between UMCU and HMC. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated a substantial and almost perfect reliability of the AIS coders within the same trauma center, but variability across trauma centers. This indicates a need to improve inter-rater reliability in AIS coders and quality assessments of trauma registry data, specifically for patients with head injuries. Future research should study the effect of differences in AIS scoring on outcome predictions.

Polytrauma patients with severe cervical spine injuries are different than with severe TBI despite similar AIS scores.

Traumatic cervical spine injuries (TCSI) are rare injuries. With increasing age the incidence of TCSI is on the rise. TCSI and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are often associated. Both TCSI and TBI are allocated to the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) head region. However, the nature and outcome of these injuries are potentially different. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology, demographics and outcome of severely injured patients with severe TCSI, and compare them with polytrauma patients with severe TBI in the strict sense. Consecutive polytrauma patients aged ≥ 15 years with AIShead ≥ 3 who were admitted to a level-1 trauma center Intensive Care Unit (ICU) from 2013 to 2021 were included. Demographics, treatment, and outcome parameters were analyzed for patients who had AIShead ≥ 3 based on TCSI and compared to patients with AIShead ≥ 3 based on proper TBI. Data on follow-up were collected for TCSI patients. Two hundred eighty-four polytrauma patients (68% male, Injury Severity Score (ISS) 33) with AIShead ≥ 3 were included; Thirty-one patients (11%) had AIShead ≥ 3 based on TCSI whereas 253 (89%) had AIShead ≥ 3 based on TBI. TCSI patients had lower systolic blood pressure in the Emergency Department (ED) and stayed longer in ICU than TBI patients. There was no difference in morbidity and mortality rates. TCSI patients died due to high cervical spine injuries or respiratory insufficiency, whereas TBI patients died primarily due to TBI. TCSI was mainly located at C2, and 58% had associated spinal cord injury. Median follow-up time was 22 months. Twenty-two percent had improvement of the spinal cord injury, and 10% died during follow-up. In this study the incidence of severe TCSI in polytrauma was much lower than TBI. Cause of death in TCSI was different compared to TBI demonstrating that AIShead based on TCSI is a different entity than based on TBI. In order to avoid data misinterpretation injuries to the cervical spine should be distinguished from TBI in morbidity and mortality analysis.

Early correction of base deficit decreases late mortality in polytrauma.

INTRODUCTION: Physiology-driven resuscitation has become the standard of care in severely injured patients. This has resulted in a decrease in acute deaths by hemorrhagic shock. With increased survival from hemorrhage, focus shifts towards death later during hospital stay. This population based cohort study investigated the association of initial physiology derangement correction and (late) mortality. METHODS: Consecutive polytrauma patients aged > 15 years with deranged physiology who were admitted to a level-1 trauma center intensive care unit (ICU) from 2015 to 2021, and requiring surgical intervention < 24 h were included. Patients who acutely (< 48 h) died were excluded. Demographics, treatment, and outcome parameters were analyzed. Physiology was monitored by serial base deficits (BD) during the first 48 h. Correction of physiology was defined as BD return to normal values. Area under the curve (AUC) of BD in time was used as measurement for the correction of physiological derangement and related to mortality 3-6 days (early), and > 7 days (late). RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-five patients were included with a median age of 44 years (70% male), and Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 33. Mortality rate was 16% (71% due to traumatic brain injury (TBI)). Median time to death was 11 (6-17) days; 71% died > 7 days after injury. There was no difference between the single base deficit measurements in the emergency department(ED), operating room (OR), nor ICU between patients who died and those who did not. However, patients who later died were more acidotic at 24 and 48 h after arrival, and had a higher AUC of BD in time. This was independent of time and cause of death. CONCLUSION: Early physiological restoration based on serial BD measurements in the first 48 h after injury decreases late mortality.

Physiology dictated treatment after severe trauma: timing is everything.

INTRODUCTION: Damage control strategies in resuscitation and (fracture) surgery have become standard of care in the treatment of severely injured patients. It is suggested that damage control improves survival and decreases the incidence of organ failure. However, these strategies can possibly increase the risk of complications such as infections. Indication for damage control procedures is guided by physiological parameters, type of injury, and the surgeon's experience. We analyzed outcomes of severely injured patients who underwent emergency surgery. METHODS: Severely injured patients, admitted to a level-1 trauma center ICU from 2016 to 2020 who were in need of ventilator support and required immediate surgical intervention ( ≤24 h) were included. Demographics, treatment, and outcome parameters were analyzed. RESULTS: Hundred ninety-five patients were identified with a median ISS of 33 (IQR 25-38). Ninety-seven patients underwent immediate definitive surgery (ETC group), while 98 patients were first treated according to damage control principles with abbreviated surgery (DCS group). Although ISS was similar in both groups, DCS patients were younger, suffered from more severe truncal injuries, were more frequently in shock with more severe acidosis and coagulopathy, and received more blood products. ETC patients with traumatic brain injury needed more often a craniotomy. Seventy-four percent of DCS patients received definitive surgery in the second surgical procedure. There was no difference in mortality, nor any other outcome including organ failure and infections. CONCLUSIONS: When in severely injured patients treatment is dictated by physiology into either early definitive surgery or damage control with multiple shorter procedures stretched over several days combined with aggressive resuscitation with blood products, outcome is comparable in terms of complications.

Geriatric polytrauma patients should not be excluded from aggressive injury treatment based on age alone.

PURPOSE: Age in severely injured patients has been increasing for decades. Older age is associated with increasing mortality. However, morbidity and mortality could possibly be reduced when accurate and aggressive treatment is provided. This study investigated age-related morbidity and mortality in polytrauma including age-related decisions in initial injury management and withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST). METHODS: A 6.5-year prospective cohort study included consecutive severely injured trauma patients admitted to a Level-1 Trauma Center ICU. Demographics, data on physiology, resuscitation, MODS/ARDS, and infectious complications were prospectively collected. Patients were divided into age subgroups (< 25, 25-49, 50-69, and ≥ 70 years) to make clinically relevant comparisons. RESULTS: 391 patients (70% males) were included with median ISS of 29 (22-36), 95% sustained blunt injuries. There was no difference in injury severity, resuscitation, urgent surgeries, nor in ventilator days, ICU-LOS, and H-LOS between age groups. Adjusted odds of MODS, ARDS and infectious complications were similar between age groups. 47% of patients ≥ 70 years died, compared to 10-16% in other age groups (P < 0.001). WLST increased with older age, contributing to more than half of deaths ≥ 70 years. TBI was the most common cause of death and decision for treatment withdrawal in all age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Patients ≥ 70 years had higher mortality risk even though injury severity and complication rates were similar to other age groups. WLST increased with age with the vast majority due to brain injury. More than half of patients ≥ 70 years survived suggesting geriatric polytrauma patients should not be excluded from aggressive injury treatment based on age alone.

The effect of prehospital tranexamic acid on outcome in polytrauma patients with associated severe brain injury.

INTRODUCTION: Tranexamic acid (TXA) has shown to be beneficial in selected patients with hemorrhagic shock. Recently, TXA has gained interest in isolated traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients with variable results. There are limited data on TXA in polytrauma with associated TBI. This study investigated the role of TXA in severely injured patients with associated severe TBI. METHODS: A 7.5-year prospective cohort study was performed to investigate the relation between prehospital TXA and mortality in consecutive trauma patients with associated severe TBI (Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS)head ≥ 3) admitted to a Level-1 Trauma Center ICU. Indication for prehospital TXA administration was (suspicion of) hemorrhagic shock, and/or systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≤ 90 mmHg. Demographics, data on physiology, resuscitation, and outcomes were prospectively collected. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-four patients (67% males) with median age of 49 years and ISS 33 (98% blunt injuries) were included. Thirteen patients (6%) developed thromboembolic complications; mortality rate was 24%. Fifty-one percent of patients received prehospital TXA. TXA patients were younger, had more deranged physiology on arrival, and received more crystalloids and blood products ≤ 24 h. There was, however, no difference in overall outcome between TXA patients and no-TXA patients. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having a more deranged physiology TXA patients had similar outcome compared to no-TXA patients who were much older. Thromboembolic complication rate was low. Prehospital tranexamic acid has no evident effect on outcome in polytrauma patients with associated critical brain injury.

Incidence, causes and consequences of moderate and severe traumatic brain injury as determined by Abbreviated Injury Score in the Netherlands.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability. Epidemiology seems to be changing. TBIs are increasingly caused by falls amongst elderly, whilst we see less polytrauma due to road traffic accidents (RTA). Data on epidemiology is essential to target prevention strategies. A nationwide retrospective cohort study was conducted. The Dutch National Trauma Database was used to identify all patients over 17 years old who were admitted to a hospital with moderate and severe TBI (AIS ≥ 3) in the Netherlands from January 2015 until December 2017. Subgroup analyses were done for the elderly and polytrauma patients. 12,295 patients were included in this study. The incidence of moderate and severe TBI was 30/100.000 person-years, 13% of whom died. Median age was 65 years and falls were the most common trauma mechanism, followed by RTAs. Amongst elderly, RTAs consisted mostly of bicycle accidents. Mortality rates were higher for elderly (18%) and polytrauma patients (24%). In this national database more elderly patients who most often sustained the injury due to a fall or an RTA were seen. Bicycle accidents were very frequent, suggesting prevention could be an important aspect in order to decrease morbidity and mortality.

Epidemiology of paediatric moderate and severe traumatic brain injury in the Netherlands.

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the main cause of death in children around the world. The last Dutch epidemiological study described the incidence over 10 years ago. Mechanism of injury seems to change with the age of the child, therefore it is important to appreciate different age groups. To be able to lower the impact of childhood TBI, an understanding of current incidence, mechanism of injury and outcome is necessary. METHODS: A nationwide retrospective cohort study was conducted. The Dutch National Trauma Database was used to identify all patients 18 years and younger who were admitted to a Dutch hospital with moderate-severe TBI (Abbreviated Injury Score≥3) in the Netherlands, from January 2015 until December 2017. Subanalyses were done for different age groups. RESULTS: In total, 1413 patients were included, of whom 5% died. The incidence rate of moderate-severe TBI was 14/100,000 person years. Median age was 10.4 years. Largest age group was patients <5 years, incidence rate was highest in patients ≥16 years. Falls were more common than road traffic accidents (RTA), but RTAs occurred far more frequently amongst children over 10. RTAs predominantly consisted of bicycle accidents. Mortality rates increased from youngest to oldest age groups, as did the chances of a Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 3. CONCLUSION: Paediatric moderate-severe TBI represents a significant problem in the Netherlands. Falls are the most common mechanism of injury amongst younger children and RTAs amongst older children. Unique for the Netherlands is the vast amount of bicycle accident related injuries.

Does Liberal Prehospital and In-Hospital Tranexamic Acid Influence Outcome in Severely Injured Patients? A Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Early hemorrhage control is important in trauma-related death prevention. Tranexamic acid (TXA) has shown to be beneficial in patients in hemorrhagic shock, although widespread adoption might result in incorrect TXA administration leading to increased morbidity and mortality. METHODS: A 7-year prospective cohort study with consecutive trauma patients admitted to a Level-1 Trauma Center ICU was performed to investigate administration of both pre- and in-hospital TXA and its relation to morbidity and mortality. Indication for prehospital and in-hospital TXA administration was (suspicion of) hemorrhagic shock, and/or systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≤ 90 mmHg. Demographics, data on physiology, resuscitation and outcomes were prospectively collected. RESULTS: Four hundred and twenty-two patients (71% males, median ISS 29, 95% blunt injuries) were included. Even though TXA patients were more severely injured with more deranged physiology, no differences in outcome were noted. Overall, thrombo-embolic complication rate was 8%. In half the patients, hemorrhagic shock was the indication for prehospital TXA, whereas 79% of in-hospital TXA was given based on suspicion of hemorrhagic shock. Thirteen percent of patients with SBP ≤ 90 mmHg in ED received no TXA at all. Based on SBP alone, 22% of prehospital TXA and 25% of in-hospital TXA were justified. CONCLUSIONS: Despite being more severely injured, TXA patients had similar outcome compared to patients without TXA. Thrombo-embolic complication rate was low despite liberal use of both prehospital and in-hospital TXA. Caution should be exercised in selecting patients for TXA, although this might be challenging based on SBP alone in patients who do not yet show signs of deranged physiology on arrival in ED.

Process related decisions and in-hospital transport times in polytrauma patients benefit from 24/7 in-house presence of trauma surgeons.

BACKGROUND: Time and cause of death in polytrauma has shifted due to improvements in trauma and critical care. These include logistical improvements with dedicated trauma teams and in-house trauma surgeons. This study investigated in-hospital transport times and influence of process related decisions on mortality in polytrauma patients. STUDY DESIGN: A 6.5-year prospective study included consecutive polytrauma patients ≥15 years admitted to a Level-1 Trauma Center ICU with 24/7 in-house trauma surgeons. Demographics, physiologic parameters, pre- and in-hospital transport times were prospectively collected. Data are presented as median(IQR). RESULTS: 391 patients were included with median ISS of 29(22-36). 82 patients(21%) had a SBP≤90 mmHg on arrival in ED. 44 patients went from ED directly to OR for urgent surgery, all others had CT prior to OR and/or ICU. Patients who went directly to OR from ED had median transport time of 28(23-37) min. Patients who had CT after ED had median transport time of 31(25-42) min. 74(19%) patients died, majority caused by TBI(70%). Ten patients died <24 h after trauma (4 hemorrhage,3 TBI,2 ischemia,1 cardiac injury), 9 of them went straight to OR from ED. Death could possibly have been prevented in 1 patient (1%) who later died of hemorrhage but went to CT before urgent surgery. CONCLUSION: In-hospital transport times from ED were half an hour regardless of the following destination (OR/CT). Decisions for transport order based on clinical signs in primary survey were rapid and accurate. This could be attributed to dedicated trauma teams and 24/7 physical presence of trauma surgeons.

No Need for Sternal Fixation in Traumatic Sternovertebral Fractures: Outcomes of a 10-Year Retrospective Cohort Study.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVES: Combined sternal and spinal fractures are rare traumatic injuries and present a high risk of spinal and thoracic wall instability. Limited research has addressed the treatment of sternovertebral injuries and biomechanical need for sternal fixation to achieve spinal healing. METHODS: A 10-year retrospective cohort study was conducted, including patients with sternovertebral fractures admitted to our level-1 trauma centre between 2007 and 2016. Patients who died during hospital admission, military patients, patients with isolated upper cervical spine or lower lumbar spine fractures, and patients lost to follow-up were excluded. RESULTS: In 10 years, 73 patients with sternovertebral fractures were included. Mean injury severity score was 24 (range 4-57). Most sternal fractures were located in the sternal body and manubrium. Spinal fractures were type A (52%), B (40%), or C (8%), and were located in the subaxial cervical (21%), upper thoracic (16%), thoracic (21%), thoracolumbar (47%) area; 7 patients had spinal fractures at multiple levels. Fourteen patients (19%) had a neurological deficit. A total of 42 patients received conservative and 31 patients received operative spinal treatment. Two patients (3%) underwent primary sternal fixation. Sternal failure rate was 1% and biomechanical spinal failure rate was 8%, there was no difference in treatment failure between surgical and conservative spinal treatment. Associated thoracic injuries did not influence sternal or spinal treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that conservative sternal treatment in presence of spinal fractures is safe and effective. The low spinal treatment failure rates imply that sternal fixation is not necessary to achieve spinal stability.

Current treatment and outcomes of traumatic sternovertebral fractures: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: Combined sternal and spinal fractures are rare traumatic injuries with significant risk of spinal and thoracic wall instability. Controversy remains with regard to treatment strategies and the biomechanical need for sternal fixation to achieve spinal healing. The present study aimed to assess outcomes of sternovertebral fracture treatment. METHODS: A systematic review of literature on the treatment of traumatic sternovertebral fractures was conducted. Original studies published after 1990, reporting sternal and spinal healing or stability were included. Studies not reporting treatment outcomes were excluded. RESULTS: Six studies were included in this review, with a total study population of 98 patients: 2 case series, 3 case reports, and 1 retrospective cohort study. 10 per cent of sternal fractures showed displacement. Most spinal fractures were located in the thoracic spine and were AOSpine type A (51%), type B (35%), or type C (14%). 14 per cent of sternal fractures and 49% of spinal fractures were surgically treated. Sternal treatment failure occurred in 5% of patients and biomechanical spinal failure in 8%. There were no differences in treatment failure between conservative and operative treatment. CONCLUSION: Literature on traumatic sternovertebral fracture treatment is sparse. Findings indicate that in most patients, sternal fixation is not required to achieve sternal and spinal stability. However, results of the current review should be cautiously interpreted, since most included studies were of poor quality.

Global changes in mortality rates in polytrauma patients admitted to the ICU-a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Many factors of trauma care have changed in the last decades. This review investigated the effect of these changes on global all-cause and cause-specific mortality in polytrauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Moreover, changes in trauma mechanism over time and differences between continents were analyzed. MAIN BODY: A systematic review of literature on all-cause mortality in polytrauma patients admitted to ICU was conducted. All-cause and cause-specific mortality rates were extracted as well as trauma mechanism of each patient. Poisson regression analysis was used to model time trends in all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Thirty studies, which reported mortality rates for 82,272 patients, were included and showed a decrease of 1.8% (95% CI 1.6-2.0%) in all-cause mortality per year since 1966. The relative contribution of brain injury-related death has increased over the years, whereas the relative contribution of death due to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), acute respiratory distress syndrome, and sepsis decreased. MODS was the most common cause of death in North America, and brain-related death was the most common in Asia, South America, and Europe. Penetrating trauma was most often reported in North America and Asia. CONCLUSIONS: All-cause mortality in polytrauma patients admitted to the ICU has decreased over the last decades. A shift from MODS to brain-related death was observed. Geographical differences in cause-specific mortality were present, which may provide region-specific learning possibilities resulting in improvement of global trauma care.

Point-of-Care Analysis of Neutrophil Phenotypes: A First Step Toward Immuno-Based Precision Medicine in the Trauma ICU.

OBJECTIVES: The amount of tissue damage and the amplitude of the immune response after trauma are related to the development of infectious complications later on. Changes in the neutrophil compartment can be used as read out of the amplitude of the immune response after trauma. The study aim was to test whether 24/7 point-of-care analysis of neutrophil marker expression by automated flow cytometry can be achieved after trauma. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study was performed. Polytrauma patients who developed infectious complications were compared with polytrauma patients who did not develop infectious complications. SETTING: The study was performed in a level 1 trauma center. PATIENTS: All trauma patients presented in the trauma bay were included. INTERVENTIONS: An extra blood tube was drawn from all patients. Thereafter, a member of the trauma team placed the blood tube in the fully automated flow cytometer, which was located in the corner of the trauma room. Next, a modified and tailored protocol for this study was automatically performed. MAIN RESULTS: The trauma team was able to successfully start the point-of-care automated flow cytometry analysis in 156 of 164 patients, resulting in a 95% success rate. Polytrauma patients who developed infectious complications had a significantly higher %CD16dim/CD62Lbright neutrophils compared with polytrauma patients who did not develop infectious complications (p = 0.002). Area under the curve value for %CD16dim/CD62Lbright neutrophils is 0.90 (0.83-0.97). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the feasibility of the implementation of a fully automated point-of-care flow cytometry system for the characterization of the cellular innate immune response in trauma patients. This study supports the concept that the assessment of CD16dim/CD62Lbright neutrophils can be used for early detection of patients at risk for infectious complications. Furthermore, this can be used as first step toward immuno-based precision medicine of polytrauma patients at the ICU.

Fragile neutrophils in surgical patients: A phenomenon associated with critical illness.

Leukocyte viability (determined by e.g. propidium iodide [PI] staining) is automatically measured by hematology analyzers to check for delayed bench time. Incidental findings in fresh blood samples revealed the existence of leukocytes with decreased viability in critically ill surgical patients. Not much is known about these cells and their functional and/or clinical implications. Therefore, we investigated the incidence of decreased leukocyte viability, the implications for leukocyte functioning and its relation with clinical outcomes. An automated alarm was set in a routine hematology analyzer (Cell-Dyn Sapphire) for the presence of non-viable leukocytes characterized by increased fluorescence in the PI-channel (FL3:630±30nm). Patients with non-viable leukocytes were prospectively included and blood samples were drawn to investigate leukocyte viability in detail and to investigate leukocyte functioning (phagocytosis and responsiveness to a bacterial stimulus). Then, a retrospective analysis was conducted to investigate the incidence of fragile neutrophils in the circulation and clinical outcomes of surgical patients with fragile neutrophils hospitalized between 2013-2017. A high FL3 signal was either caused by 1) neutrophil autofluorescence which was considered false positive, or by 2) actual non-viable PI-positive neutrophils in the blood sample. These two causes could be distinguished using automatically generated data from the hematology analyzer. The non-viable (PI-positive) neutrophils proved to be viable (PI-negative) in non-lysed blood samples, and were therefore referred to as 'fragile neutrophils'. Overall leukocyte functioning was not impaired in patients with fragile neutrophils. Of the 11 872 retrospectively included surgical patients, 75 (0.63%) were identified to have fragile neutrophils during hospitalization. Of all patients with fragile neutrophils, 75.7% developed an infection, 70.3% were admitted to the ICU and 31.3% died during hospitalization. In conclusion, fragile neutrophils occur in the circulation of critically ill surgical patients. These cells can be automatically detected during routine blood analyses and are an indicator of critical illness.