Getting patients to the right level of trauma center after motorcycle crashes in a rural trauma system

PURPOSE

After a motorcycle crash (MCC), emergency medical services (EMS) responders must balance trauma center proximity with clinical needs of patients, which is especially challenging in rural states. The study purpose was to determine if MCC patients treated at lower-level trauma centers (LLTC) experienced higher mortality when compared to patients transported directly to the highest level of trauma care available in the state at Level II trauma centers.

PROCEDURES

A retrospective study was conducted on MCC patients transported by EMS to Montana hospitals and met registry inclusion criteria in 2020-2021. The first study group included patients initially transported to state-designated trauma centers (equivalent to Level III-V) or non-designated hospitals (LLTC), and the second group included patients transported directly to American College of Surgeon verified Level II trauma centers (L2TC). Secondary transfer was defined as initial transport to a LLTC and subsequent transfer to a L2TC. Primary study outcome was mortality at the L2TC. Chi-square tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used for analysis.

FINDINGS

In the study period, 337 MCC patients were transported by EMS; 186 (55%) patients were transported to a LLTC while 151 patients (45%) were transported to a L2TC. There were no statistically significant differences in mortality (12% vs 8%, p = 0.30) when comparing secondary transfer patients to patients transported directly to a L2TC.

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly half of patients initially evaluated at a LLTC required transfer to a higher-level of care. Secondary transfer was not associated with increased mortality.

Integrating Smoking Cessation Into Low-Dose Computed Tomography Lung Cancer Screening: Results of the Ontario, Canada Pilot

INTRODUCTION

Low-dose computed tomography screening in high-risk individuals reduces lung cancer mortality. To inform the implementation of a provincial lung cancer screening program, Ontario Health undertook a Pilot study, which integrated smoking cessation (SC).

METHODS

The impact of integrating SC into the Pilot was assessed by the following: rate of acceptance of a SC referral; proportion of individuals who were currently smoking cigarettes and attended a SC session; the quit rate at 1 year; change in the number of quit attempts; change in Heaviness of Smoking Index; and relapse rate in those who previously smoked.

RESULTS

A total of 7768 individuals were recruited predominantly through primary care physician referral. Of these, 4463 were currently smoking and were risk assessed and referred to SC services, irrespective of screening eligibility: 3114 (69.8%) accepted referral to an in-hospital SC program, 431 (9.7%) to telephone quit lines, and 50 (1.1%) to other programs. In addition, 4.4% reported no intention to quit and 8.5% were not interested in participating in a SC program. Of the 3063 screen-eligible individuals who were smoking at baseline low-dose computed tomography scan, 2736 (89.3%) attended in-hospital SC counseling. The quit rate at 1 year was 15.5% (95% confidence interval: 13.4%-17.7%; range: 10.5%-20.0%). Improvements were also observed in Heaviness of Smoking Index (p < 0.0001), number of cigarettes smoked per day (p < 0.0001), time to first cigarette (p < 0.0001), and number of quit attempts (p < 0.001). Of those who reported having quit within the previous 6 months, 6.3% had resumed smoking at 1 year. Furthermore, 92.7% of the respondents reported satisfaction with the hospital-based SC program.

CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of these observations, the Ontario Lung Screening Program continues to recruit through primary care providers, to assess risk for eligibility using trained navigators, and to use an opt-out approach to referral for cessation services. In addition, initial in-hospital SC support and intensive follow-on cessation interventions will be provided to the extent possible.

Using the Delphi method to establish pediatric emergency triage criteria in a grade A tertiary women's and children's hospital in China

BACKGROUND

We aimed to establish simplified and quantifiable triage criteria in pediatric emergency care, improving the efficiency of pediatric emergency triage and ensuring patient safety.

METHODS

We preliminarily determined the pediatric emergency triage criteria with references to pediatric emergency department characteristics and internationally recognized triage tools after literature review and discussion. The final determination of the triage criteria was reached after two rounds of Delphi surveys completed by18 experts from 3 hospitals in China.

RESULTS

Both round 1 and round 2 surveys had a 100% response rate. The overall expert authority coefficient in the two rounds of surveys was 0.872. The experts had 100% enthusiasm for participating in the surveys. Kendall's coefficients of concordance for conditions/symptoms in patients triaged to level 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 0.149, 0.193, 0.102, and 0.266, respectively. All p-values were less than 0.05. The coefficients of variation in conditions/symptoms, vital signs, and the Pediatric Early Warning Score (PEWS) ranged between 0.00 and 0.205, meeting the inclusion criteria. The pediatric emergency triage criteria containing conditions/symptoms, vital signs, PEWS scores, and other 4 level 1 indicators, 51 level 2 indicators and 23 level 3 indicators were built. The maximum waiting time to treatment for the patients triaged to level 1, 2, 3, and 4 was immediate, within 10 min, within 30 min, and within 240 min, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The pediatric emergency triage criteria established in this study was scientific and reliable. It can be used to quickly identify the patients requiring urgent and immediate care, thereby ensuring the priorities for the care of critically ill patients.

The differential associations of preexisting conditions with trauma-related outcomes in the presence of competing risks

INTRODUCTION

Pre-existing chronic conditions (PECs) pose a unique problem for the care of aging trauma populations. However, the relationships between specific conditions and outcomes after injury are relatively unknown. Evaluation of trauma patients is further complicated by their discharge to care facilities, where mortality risk remains high. Traditional approaches for evaluating in-hospital mortality do not account for the discharge of at-risk patients, which constitutes a competing risk event to death. The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between 40 PECs and two clinical outcomes in the context of competing risks among older trauma patients.

METHODS

This retrospective study evaluated blunt-injured patients aged 55 years and older admitted to a level I trauma centre in 2006-2012. Outcomes were hospital length of stay (HLOS) and in-hospital mortality. Survivors were classified as discharges home or discharges to care facilities. Competing risks regression was used to evaluate each PEC with in-hospital mortality, accounting for discharges to care facilities as competing events. Competing risk estimates were compared to Cox model estimates, for which all survivors to discharge were non-events. Analyses were stratified using injury-based mortality risk at a 50% cutpoint (high versus low).

RESULTS

Among 4653 patients, 176 died in-hospital, 3059 were discharged home, and 1418 were discharged to a care facility. Most patients (98%) were classified with a low mortality risk. Only haemophilia and coagulopathy were consistently associated with longer HLOS. In the low-risk subgroup, in-hospital mortality was most strongly associated with liver diseases, haemophilia, and coagulopathy. In the high-risk group, Parkinson's disease, depression, and cancers showed the strongest associations. Accounting for the competing event altered estimates for 12 of 19 significant conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Excess mortality among patients expected to survive their injuries may be attributable to complications resulting from PECs. Discharges to care facilities constitute a bias in the evaluation of in-hospital mortality and should be considered for the accurate calculation of risk. In conjunction with injury measures, consideration of PECs provides physicians with a foundation to plan clinical decisions in older trauma patients.

Should we still use motor vehicle intrusion as a sole triage criterion for the use of trauma center resources?

BACKGROUND

Motor vehicle intrusion (MVI) is one of the field triage criteria recommended by the American College of Surgeons Committee of Trauma (ACS-COT) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the evidence supporting its validity is scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of this criterion and assess its impact on overtriage or undertriage.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This was a retrospective study based on the Los Angeles County Trauma and Emergency Medicine Information System (TEMIS) Trauma database. Included in the analysis were patients with MVI as the sole criterion for trauma center triage. Physiological characteristics, severity of injury, and outcomes of the MVI patients were compared between different age groups. Further, a logistic regression model was used to identify factors significantly associated with the need for trauma center resources.

RESULTS

During the period 2002-2012, a total of 10,554 trauma patients involved in motor vehicle crashes had documentation of MVI. A subgroup of 3998 patients (37.9%) did not meet any other criteria that require immediate transportation to a designated trauma center. Only 0.7% of these patients had hypotension and 0.1% had deterioration of the Glasgow Coma Scale on admission to the emergency room. Overall, 18.8% of patients required trauma center resources defined as intubation in the emergency room, certain surgical procedures, in-hospital death, or intensive care unit admission. Age ≥65 years, male gender, prehospital heart rate >100/min, and systolic blood pressure <110 mmHg were significantly associated with the need for trauma center resources.

CONCLUSIONS

The MVI itself did not appear to be a strong indicator for the use of trauma center resources and is associated with excessive overtriage. However, age >65 years, systolic blood pressure <110 mmHg, and heart rate >100/min were significant predictors for the need of trauma center resources. The MVI criterion should be refined for better utilization of trauma center resources.