An Indian surgeon's perspective on management of asymptomatic gallstones

INTRODUCTION

Cholelithiasis is widely prevalent in India, with a majority of patients being asymptomatic while a small proportion experiencing mild complications. In the laparoscopic era, the rate of cholecystectomies has increased owing to early recovery and fewer complications. In asymptomatic patients, the risk of complications must be balanced against the treatment benefit. Recent guidelines suggest no prophylactic cholecystectomy in asymptomatic patients. We aimed to find out the Indian surgeons' perspective on asymptomatic gallstone management.

METHODS

A cross-sectional e-survey was conducted of practicing surgeons, onco-surgeons and gastrointestinal-surgeons in India. The survey had questions regarding their perspective on laparoscopic cholecystectomy and treatment modalities in asymptomatic gallstones.

RESULTS

A total of 196 surgeons responded to the survey. Their mean age was 42.3 years. Overall, 111 (57%) respondents worked in the private sector. Most surgeons (164) agreed that the rate of cholecystectomy has increased since the advent of laparoscopy; 137 (70%) respondents agreed that they would not operate on patients without risk factors. Common bile duct stones, chronic hemolytic diseases, transplant recipients, and diabetes mellitus were the risk factors. Majority of the participants agreed on not performing a cholecystectomy in patients with asymptomatic gallstones.

CONCLUSION

There exists a lack of consensus among Indian surgeons on asymptomatic gallstone management in India. Where the majority of cases are asymptomatic and do not require surgery, certain comorbidities can influence the line of treatment in individual patients. Currently, the treatment guidelines for asymptomatic patients need to be established as cholecystectomies may be overperformed due to the fear of development of complications.

Trends of surgical-care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-centre study in India (IndSurg Collaboration)

Context

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns adversely affected global healthcare services to varying extents. To accommodate its added burden, emergency services were affected along-with elective surgeries.

Aims

To quantify and analyze the trends of essential surgeries and bellwether procedures during the waxing and waning of the pandemic, across various hospitals in India.

Settings and Design

Multi-centric retrospective study.

Methods and Material

A research consortium led by World Health Organization (WHO) Collaboration Center (WHOCC) for Research in Surgical Care Delivery in Low-and Middle-Income countries, India, conducted this study with 5 centers. All surgeries performed during April 2020 (Wave I), November 2020 (Recovery I), and April 2021 (Wave II) were compared with those performed in April 2019 (pre-pandemic period).

Statistical Analysis Used

Microsoft Excel 2019 and SPSS Version 20.

Results

The total number of surgeries reduced by 77% during Wave I, which improved to a 52% reduction in Recovery I compared to the pre-pandemic period. However, surgeries were reduced again during Wave II to 68%, but the reduction was less compared to Wave I. Emergency and essential surgeries were affected along with the elective ones but to a lesser extent.

Conclusions

The present study has quantified the effects of the pandemic on surgical-care delivery across a timeline and documented a reduction in overall surgical volumes during the peaks of the pandemic (Wave I and II) with minimal improvement as the surge of COVID-19 cases declined (Recovery II). The surgical volumes improved during the second wave compared to the first one which may be attributable to better preparedness. Cesarean sections were affected the least.

Exploring the perioperative infection control practices & incidence of surgical site infections in rural India

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infections (SSIs) affect around a third of patients undergoing surgeries worldwide, annually. It is heterogeneously distributed with a higher burden in low and middle-income countries. Although rural and semi-urban hospitals cater to 60-70% of the Indian population, scarce data regarding SSI rates are available from such hospitals. The study aimed to determine the prevalent SSI prevention practices and existing SSI rates in the smaller rural and semi-urban hospitals in India.

METHODS

This is a prospective study performed in two phases involving surgeons and their hospitals from Indian rural and semi-urban regions. In the first phase, a questionnaire was administered to surgeons enquiring into the perioperative SSI prevention practices and five interested hospitals were recruited for phase two which documented the rate of SSIs and factors affecting them.

RESULTS

There was full compliance towards appropriate perioperative sterilisation practices and postoperative mop count practice at the represented hospitals. But prophylactic antimicrobials were continued in the postoperative period in more than 80% of the hospitals. The second phase of our study documented an overall SSI rate of 7.0%. The SSI rates were influenced by the surgical wound class with dirty wounds recording six times higher rate of infection than clean cases.

CONCLUSIONS

SSI prevention practices and protocols were in place in all the less-resourced hospitals surveyed. The SSI rates are comparable or lower than other LMIC settings. However, this is accompanied by poor implementation of the antimicrobial stewardship guidelines.

Profile and triage validity of trauma patients triaged green: a prospective cohort study from a secondary care hospital in India

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the profile of non-urgent patients triaged 'green', as part of a triage trial in the emergency department (ED) of a secondary care hospital in India. The secondary aim was to validate the triage trial with the South African Triage Score (SATS).

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

A secondary care hospital in Mumbai, India.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients aged 18 years and above with a history of trauma defined as having any of the external causes of morbidity and mortality listed in block V01-Y36, chapter XX of the International Classification of Disease version 10 codebook, triaged green between July 2016 and November 2019.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Outcome measures were mortality within 24 hours, 30 days and mistriage.

RESULTS

We included 4135 trauma patients triaged green. The mean age of patients was 32.8 (±13.1) years, and 77% were males. The median (IQR) length of stay of admitted patients was 3 (13) days. Half the patients had a mild Injury Severity Score (3-8), with the majority of injuries being blunt (98%). Of the patients triaged green by clinicians, three-quarters (74%) were undertriaged on validating with SATS. On telephonic follow-up, two patients were reported dead whereas one died while admitted in hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights the need for implementation and evaluation of training in trauma triage systems that use physiological parameters, including pulse, systolic blood pressure and Glasgow Coma Scale, for the in-hospital first responders in the EDs.

Breast Conservative Surgery for Breast Cancer: Indian Surgeon's Preferences and Factors Influencing Them

Background

It is well established that disease-free survival and overall survival after breast conservation surgery (BCS) followed by radiotherapy are equivalent to that after mastectomy. However, in Asian countries, the rate of BCS continues to remain low. The cause may be multifactorial including the patient's choice, availability and accessibility of infrastructure, and surgeon's choice. We aimed to elucidate the Indian surgeons' perspective while choosing between BCS and mastectomy, in women oncologically eligible for BCS.

Methods

We conducted a survey-based cross-sectional study in January-February 2021. Indian surgeons with general surgical or specialised oncosurgical training, who consented to participate were included in the study. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to assess the effect of study variables on offering mastectomy or BCS.

Results

A total of 347 responses were included. The mean age of the participants was 43 ± 11 years. Sixty-three of the surgeons were in the 25-44 years age group with the majority (80%) being males. 66.4% of surgeons 'almost always' offered BCS to oncologically eligible patients. Surgeons who had undergone specialised training in oncosurgery or breast conservation surgery were 35 times more likely to offer BCS (p < 0.01). Surgeons working in hospitals with in-house radiation oncology facilities were 9 times more likely to offer BCS (p < 0.05). Surgeons' years of practice, age, sex and hospital setting did not influence the surgery offered.

Conclusion

Two-thirds of Indian surgeons preferred BCS over mastectomy. Lack of radiotherapy facilities and specialised surgical training were deterrents to offering BCS to eligible women.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13193-022-01601-y.

Patterns of Head and Neck Injuries in Urban India: A Multicenter Study

Objective

The pattern of head and neck injuries has been well studied in high-income countries, but the data are limited in low- and middle-income countries, which are disproportionately affected by trauma. We examined a prospective multicenter database to describe patterns and outcomes of head and neck injuries in urban India.

Study Design

Retrospective review of trauma registry.

Setting

Four tertiary public hospitals in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata.

Methods

We identified patients with isolated head and neck injuries using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes and excluded those with traumatic brain and/or ophthalmic injuries and injuries in other body regions.

Results

Our cohort included 171 patients. Most were males (80.7%) and adults aged 18 to 55 years (60.2%). Falls (36.8%) and road traffic accidents (36.3%) were the 2 predominant mechanisms of injury. Overall, 35.7% required intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and 11.7% died. More than 20% of patients were diagnosed with “unspecified injury of neck.” Those with the diagnosis had a higher ICU admission rate (51.4% vs 31.3%, P = .025) and mortality rate (27.0% vs 7.5%, P = .001) than those without the diagnosis.

Conclusion

Isolated head and neck injuries are not highly prevalent among Indian trauma patients admitted to urban tertiary hospitals but are associated with high mortality. Over a fifth of patients were diagnosed with “unspecified injury of neck,” which is associated with more severe clinical outcomes. Exactly what this diagnosis entails and encompasses remains unclear.

A cohort study of differences in trauma outcomes between females and males at four Indian Urban Trauma Centers

Background Studies from high income countries suggest improved survival for females as compared to males following trauma. However, data regarding differences in trauma outcomes between females and males is severely lacking from low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this study was to determine the association between sex and clinical outcomes amongst Indian trauma patients using the Australia-India Trauma Systems Collaboration database. Methods A prospective multicentre cohort study was performed across four urban public hospitals in India April 2016 through February 2018. Bivariate analyses compared admission physiological parameters and mechanism of injury. Logistic regression assessed association of sex with the primary outcomes of 30-day and 24-hour in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included ICU admission, ICU length of stay, ventilator requirement, and time on a ventilator. Results Of 8,605 patients, 1,574 (18.3%) were females. The most common mechanism of injury was falls for females (52.0%) and road traffic injury for males (49.5%). On unadjusted analysis, there was no difference in 30-day in-hospital mortality between females (11.6%) and males (12.6%, p = 0.323). However, females demonstrated a lower mortality at 24-hours (1.1% vs males 2.1%, p = 0.011) on unadjusted analysis. Females were also less likely to require a ventilator (17.3% vs 21.0% males, p = 0.001) or ICU admission (34.4% vs 37.5%, p = 0.028). Stratification by age or by ISS demonstrated no difference in 30-day in-hospital mortality for males vs females across age and ISS categories. On multivariable regression analysis, sex was not associated significantly with 30-day or 24-hour in-hospital mortality. Conclusion This study did not demonstrate a significant difference in the 30-day trauma mortality or 24-hour trauma mortality between female and male trauma patients in India on adjusted analyses. A more granular data is needed to understand the interplay of injury severity, immediate post-traumatic hormonal and immunological alterations, and the impact of gender-based disparities in acute care settings.

Perceived usefulness of trauma audit filters in urban India: a mixed-methods multicentre Delphi study comparing filters from the WHO and low and middle-income countries

OBJECTIVE

To compare experts' perceived usefulness of audit filters from Ghana, Cameroon, WHO and those locally developed; generate context-appropriate audit filters for trauma care in selected hospitals in urban India; and explore characteristics of audit filters that correlate to perceived usefulness.

DESIGN

A mixed-methods approach using a multicentre online Delphi technique.

SETTING

Two large tertiary hospitals in urban India.

METHODS

Filters were rated on a scale from 1 to 10 in terms of perceived usefulness, with the option to add new filters and comments. The filters were categorised into three groups depending on their origin: low and middle-income countries (LMIC), WHO and New (locally developed), and their scores compared. Significance was determined using Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Wilcoxon rank-sum test. We performed a content analysis of the comments.

RESULTS

26 predefined and 15 new filter suggestions were evaluated. The filters had high usefulness scores (mean overall score 9.01 of 10), with the LMIC filters having significantly higher scores compared with those from WHO and those newly added. Three themes were identified in the content analysis relating to medical relevance, feasibility and specificity.

CONCLUSIONS

Audit filters from other LMICs were deemed highly useful in the urban India context. This may indicate that the transferability of defined trauma audit filters between similar contexts is high and that these can provide a starting point when implemented as part of trauma quality improvement programmes in low-resource settings.

Are home environment injuries more fatal in children and the elderly?

INTRODUCTION

'In-home injuries' are those that occur within the house or its immediate surroundings. The literature on the prevalence and magnitude of home injuries is sparse. This study was designed to characterize the mechanisms of 'in-home' injuries and compare their outcomes with 'outside home injuries'.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Australia-India Trauma Systems Collaboration (AITSC) Project created a multicentric registry consisting of trauma patients admitted at four urban tertiary care hospitals in India from April 2016 to March 2018. This registry data was analysed for this study. All admitted patients except for dead on arrival were included. Patients were categorised into 'in-home' and 'outside home' cohorts based on the place where the trauma occurred. The outcome measures were 30 day in-hospital mortality and the length of hospital stay. Two subgroup analyses were performed, the first comprised pediatric patients (<15 years) and the second elderly patients >64 years).

RESULTS

Among 9354 patients in the AITSC data registry, 8398 patients were included in the study. Out of these, 29 percent were in-home injuries, whereas the rest occurred outside home. The 30 day in-hospital mortality was 10.6 percent in the 'in-home' cohort, as compared to 13.7 percent in the 'outside home' cohort. This difference although significant on univariable analysis (p <0.01), there was no significant difference on multivariable regression analysis, after adjusting for age and injury severity score (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.73-1.04; p = 0.15). The length of hospital stay was shorter in the home injuries group (median = 5 days; IQR = 3-12 days) compared to the outside-home group (median = 7 days; IQR = 4-14 days) (p < 0.01). In the pediatric and the elderly, on multivariable regression analysis, in-home injuries were associated with higher mortality than outside home injuries.

CONCLUSION

There was no significant difference in the 30 day in-hospital mortality amongst admitted trauma patients sustaining injuries at home or outside the home. However, in pediatric and elderly patients the chances of mortality was significantly higher when injured at home.

Casemix, management, and mortality of patients rreseceiving emergency neurosurgery for traumatic brain injury in the Global Neurotrauma Outcomes Study: a prospective observational cohort study

BACKGROUND

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is increasingly recognised as being responsible for a substantial proportion of the global burden of disease. Neurosurgical interventions are an important aspect of care for patients with TBI, but there is little epidemiological data available on this patient population. We aimed to characterise differences in casemix, management, and mortality of patients receiving emergency neurosurgery for TBI across different levels of human development.

METHODS

We did a prospective observational cohort study of consecutive patients with TBI undergoing emergency neurosurgery, in a convenience sample of hospitals identified by open invitation, through international and regional scientific societies and meetings, individual contacts, and social media. Patients receiving emergency neurosurgery for TBI in each hospital's 30-day study period were all eligible for inclusion, with the exception of patients undergoing insertion of an intracranial pressure monitor only, ventriculostomy placement only, or a procedure for drainage of a chronic subdural haematoma. The primary outcome was mortality at 14 days postoperatively (or last point of observation if the patient was discharged before this time point). Countries were stratified according to their Human Development Index (HDI)-a composite of life expectancy, education, and income measures-into very high HDI, high HDI, medium HDI, and low HDI tiers. Mixed effects logistic regression was used to examine the effect of HDI on mortality while accounting for and quantifying between-hospital and between-country variation.

FINDINGS

Our study included 1635 records from 159 hospitals in 57 countries, collected between Nov 1, 2018, and Jan 31, 2020. 328 (20%) records were from countries in the very high HDI tier, 539 (33%) from countries in the high HDI tier, 614 (38%) from countries in the medium HDI tier, and 154 (9%) from countries in the low HDI tier. The median age was 35 years (IQR 24-51), with the oldest patients in the very high HDI tier (median 54 years, IQR 34-69) and the youngest in the low HDI tier (median 28 years, IQR 20-38). The most common procedures were elevation of a depressed skull fracture in the low HDI tier (69 [45%]), evacuation of a supratentorial extradural haematoma in the medium HDI tier (189 [31%]) and high HDI tier (173 [32%]), and evacuation of a supratentorial acute subdural haematoma in the very high HDI tier (155 [47%]). Median time from injury to surgery was 13 h (IQR 6-32). Overall mortality was 18% (299 of 1635). After adjustment for casemix, the odds of mortality were greater in the medium HDI tier (odds ratio [OR] 2·84, 95% CI 1·55-5·2) and high HDI tier (2·26, 1·23-4·15), but not the low HDI tier (1·66, 0·61-4·46), relative to the very high HDI tier. There was significant between-hospital variation in mortality (median OR 2·04, 95% CI 1·17-2·49).

INTERPRETATION

Patients receiving emergency neurosurgery for TBI differed considerably in their admission characteristics and management across human development settings. Level of human development was associated with mortality. Substantial opportunities to improve care globally were identified, including reducing delays to surgery. Between-hospital variation in mortality suggests changes at an institutional level could influence outcome and comparative effectiveness research could identify best practices.

FUNDING

National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Group.

A pilot multicentre cluster randomised trial to compare the effect of trauma life support training programmes on patient and provider outcomes

INTRODUCTION

Trauma accounts for nearly 10% of the global burden of disease. Several trauma life support programmes aim to improve trauma outcomes. There is no evidence from controlled trials to show the effect of these programmes on patient outcomes. We describe the protocol of a pilot study that aims to assess the feasibility of conducting a cluster randomised controlled trial comparing advanced trauma life support (ATLS) and primary trauma care (PTC) with standard care.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will pilot a pragmatic three-armed parallel, cluster randomised controlled trial in India, where neither of these programmes are routinely taught. We will recruit tertiary hospitals and include trauma patients and residents managing these patients. Two hospitals will be randomised to ATLS, two to PTC and two to standard care. The primary outcome will be all-cause mortality at 30 days from the time of arrival to the emergency department. Our secondary outcomes will include patient, provider and process measures. All outcomes except time-to-event outcomes will be measured both as final values as well as change from baseline. We will compare outcomes in three combinations of trial arms: ATLS versus PTC, ATLS versus standard care and PTC versus standard care using absolute and relative differences along with associated CIs. We will conduct subgroup analyses across the clinical subgroups men, women, blunt multisystem trauma, penetrating trauma, shock, severe traumatic brain injury and elderly. In parallel to the pilot study, we will conduct community consultations to inform the planning of the full-scale trial.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

We will apply for ethics approvals to the local institutional review board in each hospital. The protocol will be published to Clinical Trials Registry-India and ClinicalTrials.gov. The results will be published and the anonymised data and code for analysis will be released publicly.

A Comparative Study of Desarda's Versus Lichtenstein's Technique for Uncomplicated Inguinal Hernia Repair

Purpose Since mesh-related long-term morbidity like chronic groin pain and vas entrapment in patients with an inguinal hernia is a concern, tissue-based repairs should be revaluated. There have been few prospective studies comparing the outcomes of Lichtenstein's technique and Desarda's technique for the repair of uncomplicated inguinal hernias. So, we conducted this prospective study comparing the two techniques. Methods This is a single-center prospective observational study conducted for a period of one year (2019). The patients who underwent surgery for uncomplicated inguinal hernia either by Lichtenstein's technique or Desarda's technique were included in the study. The two techniques were compared with respect to recurrence rates, immediate postoperative pain, chronic groin pain, wound infection, and the time taken to return to activities of daily living (ADL). Results There was no significant difference in the recurrence rates, chronic groin pain, wound infection, or return to ADL between Lichtenstein's technique and Desarda's technique of inguinal hernia repair. The mean duration to return to ADL was lesser when patients underwent Desarda's repair though this difference was not significant. Conclusion Desarda's tissue repair was found comparable to Lichtenstein's mesh repair in terms of recurrence and postoperative morbidity, immediate postoperative pain, chronic groin pain, wound infection, and the time taken to return to ADL. Desarda's technique may be considered as an alternative to mesh-based repairs to avoid long-term mesh-related morbidity for uncomplicated indirect hernias in the younger population.

Outcomes of Renal Trauma in Indian Urban Tertiary Healthcare Centres: A Multicentre Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Renal trauma is present in 0.5-5% of patients admitted for trauma. Advancements in radiologic imaging and minimal-invasive techniques have led to decreased need for surgical intervention. We used a large trauma cohort to characterise renal trauma patients, their management and outcomes.

METHODS

We analysed "Towards Improved Trauma Care Outcomes in India" cohort from four urban tertiary public hospitals in India between 1st September 2013 and 31st December 2015. The data of patients with renal trauma were extracted using International Classification of Diseases 10 codes and analysed for demographic and clinical details.

RESULTS

A total of 16,047 trauma patients were included in this cohort. Abdominal trauma comprised 1119 (7%) cases, of which 144 (13%) had renal trauma. Renal trauma was present in 1% of all the patients admitted for trauma. The mean age was 28 years (SD-14.7). A total of 119 (83%) patients were male. Majority (93%) were due to blunt injuries. Road traffic injuries were the most common mechanism (53%) followed by falls (29%). Most renal injuries (89%) were associated with other organ injuries. Seven of the 144 (5%) patients required nephrectomy. Three patients had grade V trauma; all underwent nephrectomy. The 30-day in-hospital mortality, in patients with renal trauma, was 17% (24/144).

CONCLUSION

Most renal trauma patients were managed nonoperatively. 89% of patients with renal trauma had concomitant injuries. The renal trauma profile from this large cohort may be generalisable to urban contexts in India and other low- and middle-income countries.

Assessing the global burden of hemorrhage: The global blood supply, deficits, and potential solutions

There is a critical shortage of blood available for transfusion in many low- and middle-income countries. The consequences of this scarcity are dire, resulting in uncounted morbidity and mortality from trauma, obstetric hemorrhage, and pediatric anemias, among numerous other conditions. The process of collecting blood from a donor to administering it to a patient involves many facets from donor availability to blood processing to blood delivery. Each step faces particular challenges in low- and middle-income countries. Optimizing existing strategies and introducing new approaches will be imperative to ensure a safe and sufficient blood supply worldwide.

Cancer epidemiology literature from India: Does it reflect the reality?

BACKGROUND

The alarming escalation of cancers over infectious diseases in the lower and middle-income countries warrants a better understanding of this epidemiological transition. The epidemiology of cancers in India is sparsely addressed in the literature. Hence, in this manuscript, we present the review done, on research manuscripts, addressing cancer incidence, trends and risk factors from India over the last 12 years. Studies addressing screening, treatment and clinical trials were excluded.

METHODS

We evaluated the studies for the theme addressed, study design, sample size, the region of origin and whether it was population or hospital-based study.

RESULTS

The studies highlighted a significant shortage of multicenter population-based data in the incidence and risk factors associated with various malignancies in India. Further, we also observed that there was a relative lack of information from the northern and northeastern parts of India. The reviewed articles also indicated the need for a robust design for the studies, large sample size and uniformity in reporting incidence for appropriately drawing conclusions from a study. Reporting of country-specific risk factors with their geographical variations was also sparse.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the cancer epidemiology literature from India is sparse. More studies with robust designs representing all parts of the country are currently needed.

Associations of On-arrival Vital Signs with 24-hour In-hospital Mortality in Adult Trauma Patients Admitted to Four Public University Hospitals in Urban India: A Prospective Multi-Centre Cohort Study

INTRODUCTION

In India, more than a million people die annually due to injuries. Identifying the patients at risk of early mortality (within 24 hour of hospital arrival) is essential for triage. A bilateral Government Australia-India Trauma System Collaboration generated a trauma registry in the context of India, which yielded a cohort of trauma patients for systematic observation and interventions. The aim of this study was to determine the independent association of on-arrival vital signs and Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) with 24-hour mortality among adult trauma patients admitted at four university public hospitals in urban India.

METHODS

We performed an analysis of a prospective multicentre observational study of trauma patients across four urban public university hospitals in India, between April 2016 and February 2018. The primary outcome was 24-hour in-hospital mortality. We used logistic regression to determine mutually independent associations of the vital signs and GCS with 24-hour mortality.

RESULTS

A total of 7497 adult patients (18 years and above) were included. The 24-hour mortality was 1.9%. In univariable logistic regression, Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) and the vital signs systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) had statistically significant associations with 24-hour mortality. These relationships held in multivariable analysis with hypotension (SBP<90mm Hg), tachycardia (HR>100bpm) and bradycardia (HR<60bpm), hypoxia (SpO2<90%), Tachypnoea (RR>20brpm) and severe (3-8) and moderate (9-12) GCS having strong association with 24-hour mortality. Notably, the patients with missing values for SBP, HR and RR also demonstrated higher odds of 24-hour mortality. The Injury Severity Scores (ISS) did not corelate with 24-hour mortality.

CONCLUSION

The routinely measured GCS and vital signs including SBP, HR, SpO2 and RR are independently associated with 24-hour in-hospital mortality in the context of university hospitals of urban India. These easily measured parameters in the emergency setting may help improve decision-making and guide further management in the trauma victims. A poor short-term prognosis was also observed in patients in whom these physiological variables were not recorded.

P43 Did COVID-19 Pandemic change Anaesthesia Practices in India: A Multi-centre Cross-sectional Study

Introduction

The anaesthetic management for surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic has posed unique challenges. Safety of all healthcare workers is an additional concern along with heightened risk to patients during General Anesthesia (GA). COVID-19 pneumonia and aerosol generation may be exacerbated during airway intervention and GA. We aimed to assess the change in the mode of anaesthesia due to the pandemic.

Methods

A research consortium led by WHO Collaboration Centre for Research in Surgical Care Delivery in Low and Middle Income countries, India, conducted this retrospective cross-sectional study in 12 hospitals across the country. We compared the anaesthesia preferences during pandemic (April 2020) to a corresponding pre pandemic period (April 2019)

Results

A total of 636 out of 2,162 (29.4%) and 156 out of 927 (16.8%) surgeries were performed under GA in April 2019 and April 2020 respectively, leading to a fall of 13% in usage of GA. A 5% reduction in GA and a 12% increase in the usage of regional anaesthesia was observed for cesarean sections. There was no significant change in anesthesia for laparotomies and fracture surgeries. However, 14% increase in GA usage was observed in surgeries for local soft tissue infections and necrotic tissues.

Conclusion

Though overall usage of GA reduced marginally, the change was mainly contributed by anesthesia for caesarean births. The insignificant change in anaesthesia for other surgeries may be attributed to the lack of facilities for spinal anaesthesia and may reflect the risk taking behaviour of healthcare professionals in COVID-19 pandemic.

Does in-hospital trauma mortality in urban Indian academic centres differ between "office-hours" and "after-hours"?

INTRODUCTION

Trauma services within hospitals may vary considerably at different times across a 24 h period. The variable services may negatively affect the outcome of trauma victims. The current investigation aims to study the effect of arrival time of major trauma patients on mortality and morbidity.

METHOD

Retrospective analysis of the Australia-India Trauma Systems Collaboration (AITSC) registry established in four public university teaching centres in India Based on hospital arrival time, patients were grouped into "Office-hours" and "After-hours". Outcome parameters were compared between the above groups.

RESULTS

5536 (68.4%) patients presented "after-hours" (AO) and 2561 (31.6%) during "office-hours" (OH). The in-hospital mortality for "after-hours" and "office-hours" presentations were 12.1% and 11.6% respectively. On unadjusted analysis, there was no statistical difference in the odds of survival for OH versus AH presentations. (OR,1.05, 95% CI 0.9-1.2). Adjusting for potential prognostic factors (injury severity, presence of shock on arrival, referral status, sex, or extremes of age), there was no statistically significant odds of survival for OH versus AH presentations (OR,1.02, 95%CI 0.9-1.2).ICU length of stay and duration of mechanical ventilation was longer in the AH group.

CONCLUSION

The in-hospital mortality did not differ between trauma patients who arrived during "after-hours" compared to '"office-hours".

Traumatic Brain Injury in Mumbai: A Survey of Providers along the Care Continuum

Introduction:

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents a significant burden of a global disease, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as India. Efforts to curb the impact of TBI require an appreciation of local factors related to this disease and its treatment.

Methods:

Semi-structured qualitative interviews were administered to paramedics, anesthesiologists, general surgeons, and neurosurgeons in locations throughout Mumbai from April to May 2018. A thematic analysis with an iterative coding was used to analyze the data. The primary objective was to identify provider-perceived themes related to TBI care in Mumbai.

Results:

A total of 50 participants were interviewed, including 17 paramedics, 15 anesthesiologists, 9 general surgeons, and 9 neurosurgeons who were involved in caring for TBI patients. The majority of physicians interviewed discussed their experiences in public sector hospitals (82%), while 12% discussed private sector hospitals and 6% discussed both. Four major themes emerged: Workforce, equipment, financing care, and the family and public role. These themes were often discussed in the context of their effects on increasing or decreasing complications and delays. Participants developed adaptations when managing shortcomings in these thematic areas. These adaptations included teamwork during workforce shortages and resource allocation when equipment was limited among others.

Conclusions:

Workforce, equipment, financing care, and the family and public role were identified as major themes in the care for TBI in Mumbai. These thematic elements provide a framework to evaluate and improve care along the care spectrum for TBI. Similar frameworks should be adapted to local contexts in urbanizing cities in LMICs.

Comparison of emergency department trauma triage performance of clinicians and clinical prediction models: a cohort study in India

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the abilities of clinicians and clinical prediction models to accurately triage emergency department (ED) trauma patients. We compared the decisions made by clinicians with the Revised Trauma Score (RTS), the Glasgow Coma Scale, Age and Systolic Blood Pressure (GAP) score, the Kampala Trauma Score (KTS) and the Gerdin et al model.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

Three hospitals in urban India.

PARTICIPANTS

In total, 7697 adult patients who presented to participating hospitals with a history of trauma were approached for enrolment. The final study sample included 5155 patients. The majority (4023, 78.0%) were male.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

The patient outcome was mortality within 30 days of arrival at the participating hospital. A grid search was used to identify model cut-off values. Clinicians and categorised models were evaluated and compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROCC) and net reclassification improvement in non-survivors (NRI+) and survivors (NRI-) separately.

RESULTS

The differences in AUROCC between each categorised model and the clinicians were 0.016 (95% CI -0.014 to 0.045) for RTS, 0.019 (95% CI -0.007 to 0.058) for GAP, 0.054 (95% CI 0.033 to 0.077) for KTS and -0.007 (95% CI -0.035 to 0.03) for Gerdin et al. The NRI+ for each model were -0.235 (-0.37 to -0.116), 0.17 (-0.042 to 0.405), 0.55 (0.47 to 0.65) and 0.22 (0.11 to 0.717), respectively. The NRI- were 0.385 (0.348 to 0.4), -0.059 (-0.476 to -0.005), -0.162 (-0.18 to -0.146) and 0.039 (-0.229 to 0.06), respectively.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study suggest that there are no substantial differences in discrimination and net reclassification improvement between clinicians and all four clinical prediction models when using 30-day mortality as the outcome of ED trauma triage in adult patients.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT02838459).

Study of pre-hospital care, patterns of injury and outcomes of suburban railway accident victims in Mumbai, India

Background

. India has one of the largest railway networks, with a high incidence of railway-related accidents and fatality rate of 150/million passengers per year. We evaluated the pre-hospitalization period, pattern of injury and outcome of train accident victims in a metropolitan city.

Methods

. For this prospective observational study, we included victims of railway accidents presenting to a public hospital of Mumbai (a metropolitan city) from November 2014 to September 2016. We documented a detailed history of the victims and patterns of injury. Injuries were assessed using the revised trauma score, injury severity score (ISS) and trauma score-ISS. The outcome of surviving persons was assessed using the European quality of life questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) and visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS).

Results

. Eighty-one accident victims were admitted during the study period, of which 37 (46%) were seriously injured. The victims were predominantly male (85%), in the age group of 14-45 years (91%), 23 (28%) were in an intoxicated state. Most accidents happened during morning and evening peak hours (60%). The average time for victims to reach hospital was 38.1 minutes and 77 (95%) were transported by an ambulance accompanied by a doctor, while 8 (10%) received first aid at the railway station or in the ambulance. Ten (12%) accident victims died while 71 (88%) were discharged.

Conclusions

. We found a high incidence of people in their productive age group losing their lives to railway accidents, which can be prevented with the help of a robust transport system and training the first responder emergency medical care providers.

Both the multiplicative and single-worst-injury International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Score underperform in urban Indian hospitals

Introduction

Trauma accounts for 9% of all deaths worldwide, killing almost five million people annually. As India accounts for more than one million of these deaths, research on local trauma care is of great importance. A key aspect of such research is outcome comparisons between contexts. One tool to adjust these comparisons for trauma severity is the International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Score. The aim was to assess two versions of this score in India.

Methods

The data used were from the project Towards Improved Trauma Care Outcomes in India. Published survival risk ratios were used to calculate multiplicative-International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Score and single-worst-injury-International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Score for the 200 most recent non-surviving patients and the surviving patients during the same period. Score performance was measured in discrimination and calibration.

Results

The 30-day prediction single-worst-injury-International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Score discriminated best with an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.668 (95% CI 0.645–0.690) and a calibration slope of 0.830 (95% CI 0.708–0.940).

Conclusions

The single-worst-injury-International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Score applied on 30-day mortality was the only score to calibrate on a satisfactory level. None of the scores had an acceptable discrimination. In interpreting these findings, we see that none of the tested scores can currently be implemented in the studied hospitals.

Third delay in traumatic brain injury: time to management as a predictor of mortality

OBJECTIVE

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global epidemic with an increasing incidence in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The time from arrival at the hospital to receiving appropriate treatment ("third delay") can vary widely in LMICs, although its association with mortality in TBI remains unknown.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis with multivariable logistic regression was conducted using the Toward Improved Trauma Care Outcomes in India database, which contains data from 4 urban trauma centers in India from 2013-2015.

RESULTS

There were 6278 TBIs included in the cohort. The patients' median age was 39 years (interquartile range 27-52 years) and 80% of patients were male. The most frequent mechanisms of injury were road traffic accidents (52%) and falls (34%). A majority of cases were transfers from other facilities (79%). In-hospital 30-day mortality was 27%; of patients who died, 21% died within 24 hours of arrival. The median third delay was 10 minutes (interquartile range 0-60 minutes); 34% of cases had moderate third delay (10-60 minutes) and 22% had extended third delay (≥ 61 minutes). Overall 30-day mortality was associated with moderate third delay (OR 1.3, p = 0.001) and extended third delay (OR 1.3, p = 0.001) after adjustment by pertinent covariates. This effect was pronounced for 24-hour mortality: moderate and extended third delays were independently associated with ORs of 3.4 and 3.8, respectively, for 24-hour mortality (both p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Third delay is associated with early mortality in patients with TBI, and represents a target for process improvement in urban trauma centers.

Impact of Trauma System Structure on Injury Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

The effectiveness of trauma systems in decreasing injury mortality and morbidity has been well demonstrated. However, little is known about which components contribute to their effectiveness. We aimed to systematically review the evidence of the impact of trauma system components on clinically important injury outcomes.

METHODS

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, and BIOSIS/Web of Knowledge, gray literature and trauma association Web sites to identify studies evaluating the association between at least one trauma system component and injury outcome. We calculated pooled effect estimates using inverse-variance random-effects models. We evaluated quality of evidence using GRADE criteria.

RESULTS

We screened 15,974 records, retaining 41 studies for qualitative synthesis and 19 for meta-analysis. Two recommended trauma system components were associated with reduced odds of mortality: inclusive design (odds ratio [OR] = 0.72 [0.65-0.80]) and helicopter transport (OR = 0.70 [0.55-0.88]). Pre-Hospital Advanced Trauma Life Support was associated with a significant reduction in hospital days (mean difference [MD] = 5.7 [4.4-7.0]) but a nonsignificant reduction in mortality (OR = 0.78 [0.44-1.39]). Population density of surgeons was associated with a nonsignificant decrease in mortality (MD = 0.58 [-0.22 to 1.39]). Trauma system maturity was associated with a significant reduction in mortality (OR = 0.76 [0.68-0.85]). Quality of evidence was low or very low for mortality and healthcare utilization.

CONCLUSIONS

This review offers low-quality evidence for the effectiveness of an inclusive design and trauma system maturity and very-low-quality evidence for helicopter transport in reducing injury mortality. Further research should evaluate other recommended components of trauma systems and non-fatal outcomes and explore the impact of system component interactions.

Predicting mortality with the international classification of disease injury severity score using survival risk ratios derived from an Indian trauma population: A cohort study

Background

Trauma is predicted to become the third leading cause of death in India by 2020, which indicate the need for urgent action. Trauma scores such as the international classification of diseases injury severity score (ICISS) have been used with great success in trauma research and in quality programmes to improve trauma care. To this date no valid trauma score has been developed for the Indian population.

Study design

This retrospective cohort study used a dataset of 16047 trauma-patients from four public university hospitals in urban India, which was divided into derivation and validation subsets. All injuries in the dataset were assigned an international classification of disease (ICD) code. Survival Risk Ratios (SRRs), for mortality within 24 hours and 30 days were then calculated for each ICD-code and used to calculate the corresponding ICISS. Score performance was measured using discrimination by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROCC) and calibration by calculating the calibration slope and intercept to plot a calibration curve.

Results

Predictions of 30-day mortality showed an AUROCC of 0.618, calibration slope of 0.269 and calibration intercept of 0.071. Estimates of 24-hour mortality consistently showed low AUROCCs and negative calibration slopes.

Conclusions

We attempted to derive and validate a version of the ICISS using SRRs calculated from an Indian population. However, the developed ICISS-scores overestimate mortality and implementing these scores in clinical or policy contexts is not recommended. This study, as well as previous reports, suggest that other scoring systems might be better suited for India and other Low- and middle-income countries until more data are available.

Assessment of the predictive value of the International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Score for trauma mortality in urban India

BACKGROUND

Trauma is the cause of 1.2 million deaths in India annually. Injury severity scores play an important role in trauma research and care because these scores enable the adjustment of trauma severity when comparing mortality outcomes. The generalizability of the International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Score (ICISS) between different populations is not fully known, and the validity of the ICISS has not been assessed in the Indian context. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive performances of three international versions of the ICISS, derived from data from Australia, New Zealand and pooled data from seven different high-income countries, in trauma patients admitted to four public hospitals in urban India.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We used patient data from an Indian cohort of 16,047 trauma patients. The patients were assigned an ICISS based on International Classification of Diseases codes using survival risk ratios from publicly available data sets from Australia and New Zealand and with pooled data from seven different high-income countries. Predicted mortality based on the ICISS was compared with observed patient mortality, and the predictive performance was assessed in terms of discrimination and calibration.

RESULTS

Discrimination and calibration did not reach the threshold for predictive performance in any of the ICISS versions used. The threshold value used was 0.8 for discrimination, which was not significantly different from one for the calibration slope and not significantly different from zero for the calibration intercept.

CONCLUSIONS

None of the international versions of the ICISS adequately predicted mortality within the study population, indicating the need for an ICISS version specifically adapted to the Indian context.

Mortality following surgery for trauma in an Indian trauma cohort

Background

India accounts for 20 per cent of worldwide trauma mortality. Little is known about the quality of trauma surgery in an Indian setting. The aim of this study was to estimate the overall perioperative mortality rate, and to assess the association between type of acute surgical intervention and perioperative mortality among adult patients treated for trauma in an urban Indian setting.

Methods

Data were obtained from injured adult patients enrolled in four urban Indian hospitals during 2013–2015. Those who had surgery within 24 h of arrival at hospital were included in the analysis. Patients with missing data were excluded. The perioperative mortality rate was measured at 48 h and 30 days after arrival at hospital. Generalized linear mixed models were used for risk adjustment of procedure-specific mortality.

Results

Among 2986 patients who underwent trauma surgery, the overall 48-h mortality rate was 6·0 per cent, and the 30-day mortality rate was 23·1 per cent. The highest adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for 48-h mortality were found for patients who underwent surgery on the peripheral vasculature (OR 4·71, 95 per cent c.i. 1·18 to 16·59; P = 0·030) and the digestive system and spleen (OR 3·77, 1·33 to 9·01; P = 0·010) compared with those who had nervous system surgery.

Conclusion

In this study of surgery in an Indian trauma cohort, there was an excess of late perioperative deaths. Mortality differed significantly according to the type of surgery being undertaken.

Impact of trauma system structure on injury outcomes: a systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND

Injury represents one of the greatest public health challenges of our time with over 5 million deaths and 100 million people temporarily or permanently disabled every year worldwide. The effectiveness of trauma systems in decreasing injury mortality and morbidity has been well demonstrated. However, the organisation of trauma care varies significantly across trauma systems and we know little about which components of trauma systems contribute to their effectiveness. The objective of the study described in this protocol is to systematically review evidence of the impact of trauma system components on clinically significant outcomes including mortality, function and disability, quality of life, and resource utilization.

METHODS

We will perform a systematic review of studies evaluating the association between at least one trauma system component (e.g. accreditation by a central agency, interfacility transfer agreements) and at least one injury outcome (e.g. mortality, disability, resource use). We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE, COCHRANE central, and BIOSIS/Web of Knowledge databases, thesis holdings, key injury organisation websites and conference proceedings for eligible studies. Pairs of independent reviewers will evaluate studies for eligibility and extract data from included articles. Methodological quality will be evaluated using elements of the ROBINS-I tool and the Cochrane risk of bias tool for non-randomized and randomized studies, respectively. Strength of evidence will be evaluated using the GRADE tool.

DISCUSSION

We expect to advance knowledge on the components of trauma systems that contribute to their effectiveness. This may lead to recommendations on trauma system structure that will help policy-makers make informed decisions as to where resources should be focused. The review may also lead to specific recommendations for future research efforts.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

This protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) on 28-06-2016. PROSPERO 2016:CRD42016041336 Available from http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.asp?ID=CRD42016041336 .

Validation of international trauma scoring systems in urban trauma centres in India

INTRODUCTION

In the Lower-Middle Income Country setting, we validate trauma severity scoring systems, namely Injury Severity Score (ISS), New Injury Severity Scale (NISS) score, the Kampala Trauma Score (KTS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS) score and the TRauma Injury Severity Score (TRISS) using Indian trauma patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From 1 September 2013 to 28 February 2015, we conducted a prospective multi-centre observational cohort study of trauma patients in four Indian university hospitals, in three megacities, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. All adult patients presenting to the casualty department with a history of injury and who were admitted to inpatient care were included. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality within 30-days of admission. The sensitivity and specificity of each score to predict inpatient mortality within 30days was assessed by the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Model fit for the performance of individual scoring systems was accomplished by using the Akaike Information criterion (AIC).

RESULTS

In a registry of 8791 adult trauma patients, we had a cohort of 7197 patients eligible for the study. 4091 (56.8%)patients had all five scores available and was the sample for a complete case analysis. Over a 30-day period, the scores (AUC) was TRISS (0.82), RTS (0.81), KTS (0.74), NISS (0.65) and ISS (0.62). RTS was the most parsimonious model with the lowest AIC score. Considering overall mortality, both physiologic scores (RTS, KTS) had better discrimination and goodness-of-fit than ISS or NISS. The ability of all Injury scores to predict early mortality (24h) was better than late mortality (30day).

CONCLUSION

On-admission physiological scores outperformed the more expensive anatomy-based ISS and NISS. The retrospective nature of ISS and TRISS score calculations and incomplete imaging in LMICs precludes its use in the casualty department of LMICs. They will remain useful for outcome comparison across trauma centres. Physiological scores like the RTS and KTS will be the practical score to use in casualty departments in the urban Indian setting, to predict early trauma mortality and improve triage.

Evaluation of Pain Preoperatively and Postoperatively in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis Undergoing Longitudinal Pancreaticojejunostomy

Chronic pancreatitis is a fairly common condition with pain being the major symptom, and longitudinal pancreaticojejunostomy (LPJ) is performed for symptomatic relief. The aim of the study is to assess relief of pain post-LPJ for chronic pancreatitis and to evaluate the factors influencing relief of symptoms. A prospective observational non-interventional study enrolling 28 patients. This study involved a questionnaire studying various risk factors and pain related to chronic pancreatitis, pancreaticojejunostomy, and postoperative assessment of pain relief at 1 and 6 months from surgery. Pain was assessed using Visual analogue scale (VAS). In chronic pancreatitis, there is a significant relief in symptoms of pain post-LPJ; the degree of relief was less in the alcoholics vs non-alcoholics (p = 0.09) and smokers. There was also reduction in analgesic requirement and frequency of acute attacks of pain. Fifty-seven percent of patients had a complete remission of their pain after LPJ for CP. In chronic pancreatitis, there is a significant relief in symptoms of pain post-LPJ, although the degree of relief is less in the alcoholics and smokers.

Validation of a novel prediction model for early mortality in adult trauma patients in three public university hospitals in urban India

BACKGROUND

Trauma is one of the top threats to population health globally. Several prediction models have been developed to supplement clinical judgment in trauma care. Whereas most models have been developed in high-income countries the majority of trauma deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Almost 20 % of all global trauma deaths occur in India alone. The aim of this study was to validate a basic clinical prediction model for use in urban Indian university hospitals, and to compare it with existing models for use in early trauma care.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective cohort study in three hospitals across urban India. The model we aimed to validate included systolic blood pressure and Glasgow coma scale. We compared this model with three additional models, which all have been designed for use in bedside trauma care, and two single variable models based on systolic blood pressure and Glasgow coma scale respectively. The outcome was early mortality, defined as death within 24 h from the time when vital signs were first measured. We compared the models in terms of discrimination, calibration, and potential clinical consequences using decision curve analysis. Multiple imputation was used to handle missing data. Performance measures are reported using their median and inter-quartile range (IQR) across imputed datasets.

RESULTS

We analysed 4440 patients, out of which 1629 were used as an updating sample and 2811 as a validation sample. We found no evidence that the basic model that included only systolic blood pressure and Glasgow coma scale had worse discrimination or potential clinical consequences compared to the other models. A model that also included heart had better calibration. For the model with systolic blood pressure and Glasgow coma scale the discrimination in terms of area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.846 (IQR 0.841-0.849). Calibration measured by estimating a calibration slope was 1.183 (IQR 1.168-1.202). Decision curve analysis revealed that using this model could potentially result in 45 fewer unnecessary surveys per 100 patients.

CONCLUSIONS

A basic clinical prediction model with only two parameters may prove to be a feasible alternative to more complex models in contexts such as the Indian public university hospitals studied here. We present a colour-coded chart to further simplify the decision making in early trauma care.

Traumatic transfers: calibration is adversely affected when prediction models are transferred between trauma care contexts in India and the United States

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated the transferability of prediction models between trauma care contexts in India and the United States and explored updating methods to adjust such models for new contexts.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTINGS

Using a combination of prospective cohort and registry data from 3,728 patients of Towards Improved Trauma Care Outcomes in India (TITCO) and from 18,756 patients of the US National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB), we derived models in one context and validated them in the other, assessing them for discrimination and calibration using systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and Glasgow coma scale as candidate predictors.

RESULTS

Early mortality was 8% in the TITCO and 1-2% in the NTDB samples. Both models discriminated well, but the TITCO model overestimated the risk of mortality in NTDB patients, and the NTDB model underestimated the risk in TITCO patients.

CONCLUSION

Transferability was good in terms of discrimination but poor in terms of calibration. It was possible to improve this miscalibration by updating the models' intercept. This updating method could be used in samples with as few as 25 events.

Waiting at the hospital door: a prospective, multicentre assessment of third delay in four tertiary hospitals in India

BACKGROUND

A common framework to assess delays in health-care in countries with low-income and middle-income (LMICs) defines three time periods that add to the interval between onset of symptoms and treatment; the time it takes to receive care after hospital arrival is known as the third delay. Tertiary centres in LMICs are known to be overcrowded and under-capacity, but few studies have formally assessed the third delay. This study aims to quantify the third delay in LMIC tertiary centres and identify contributing factors at the facility level.

METHODS

A prospective multicentre study was conducted from July, 2013, to July, 2014, in four tertiary care hospitals in the three largest cities in India: Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata. The time from patient arrival to the time when vital signs were first recorded was used as a proxy for the third delay. This delay was recorded by the research officers for those patients who were directly observed. For the rest of the patients the data were collected from patient records. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of patients exploring reasons for the delay.

FINDINGS

Data were collected for 5087 patients (1664 from Delhi, 469 from Mumbai centre-1, 711 from Mumbai centre-2, and 2243 from Kolkatta); median age was 30 years (IQR 20-45), 3944 (78%) were men, 3372 (66%) were transfers from other facilities, and 3424 (67·3%) arrived in an ambulance. Researchers directly observed 1392 (27·4%) patients from arrival to time of vital signs. There were wide variations in delays between groups, transferred versus direct presentation (0 min vs 20 min) and in between hospitals (median time 0·0 min in Mumbai to 1·5 h in Kolkatta) and in groups within each hospital. The reasons for delay were multifactorial: administrative (police case recordings, admission paper registration), logistical (no vacant beds, no physician available), and process-based (investigations before vitals, multiple patients at one time, junior physicians in-charge); process based reasons were the most common (80%).

INTERPRETATION

Delays in care persist in tertiary centres in LMICs for a variety of reasons. Low-cost but context-specific changes that optimise care processes like prioritisation and transfer protocols could yield major reductions in third delay. Adoption of best practices of the better performing hospitals in the Indian setting will help to improve the trauma quality practices in India.

FUNDING

The Laerdal Foundation for Acute Medicine and the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare.

Early hospital mortality among adult trauma patients significantly declined between 1998-2011: three single-centre cohorts from Mumbai, India

BACKGROUND

Traumatic injury causes more than five million deaths each year of which about 90% occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Hospital trauma mortality has been significantly reduced in high-income countries, but to what extent similar results have been achieved in LMIC has not been studied in detail. Here, we assessed if early hospital mortality in patients with trauma has changed over time in an urban lower middle-income setting.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of patients admitted due to trauma in 1998, 2002, and 2011 to a large public hospital in Mumbai, India. Our outcome measure was early hospital mortality, defined as death between admission and 24-hours. We used multivariate logistic regression to assess the association between time and early hospital mortality, adjusting for patient case-mix. Injury severity was quantified using International Classification of Diseases-derived Injury Severity Score (ICISS). Major trauma was defined as ICISS<0.90.

RESULTS

We analysed data on 4189 patients out of which 86.5% were males. A majority of patients were between 15 and 55 years old and 36.5% had major trauma. Overall early hospital mortality was 8.9% in 1998, 6.0% in 2002, and 8.1% in 2011. Among major trauma patients, early hospital mortality was 13.4%, in 1998, 11.3% in 2002, and 10.9% in 2011. Compared to trauma patients admitted in 1998, those admitted in 2011 had lower odds for early hospital mortality (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.41-0.76) including those with major trauma (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.41-0.78).

CONCLUSIONS

We observed a significant reduction in early hospital mortality among patients with major trauma between 1998 and 2011. Improved survival was evident only after we adjusted for patient case-mix. This finding highlights the importance of risk-adjustment when studying longitudinal mortality trends.

Pedicled omental and split skin graft in the reconstruction of the anterior abdominal wall

INTRODUCTION

The POSSG is a pedicled graft based on either the right or left gastro-epiploic arteries. It is used with a dual mesh in reconstruction of full thickness defects of anterior abdominal wall and covered by skin grafts.

PRESENTATION OF CASE

A recurrent malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) of the anterior abdominal wall was excised leaving a large defect. The POSSG was used for reconstruction. A large dual mesh was placed to close the defect in the abdominal wall by suturing it to the remnant rim of abdominal muscles. The omental pedicle was brought through a keyhole in the mesh, spread out over the mesh, sutured and covered by split skin grafts. The final graft take was 90 percent.

DISCUSSION

The POSSG can be used to reconstruct any size of anterior abdominal wall defects due to the malleable nature of omentum. Its prerequisite however is a dual mesh like PROCEED. The POSSG helps keep the more complex musculofasciocutaneous flaps as lifeboats. It can be used singly where multiple musculofasciocutaneous flaps would otherwise have been required. It can be used in patients with poor prognosis of underlying malignancy. It may be used by general surgeons due to familiarity with anatomy of the relevant structures and lack of need for microsurgical skill.

CONCLUSION

The POSSG can be used in reconstruction of abdominal wall defects of any size by general surgeons.