The Impact of Delays in Interfaculty Transfer on Outcomes in Elderly Trauma Patients

Interhospital transfers in elderly trauma patients

INTRODUCTION

The elderly population is growing worldwide and is more likely to die from injuries that younger patients would likely survive. Furthermore, elderly trauma patients are often subjected to triage decisions that admit them to lower-level facilities. These patients may require interhospital transfer to a major trauma center for definitive care. The aim of this study was to investigate the time interval from arrival at the primary hospital to arrival at the trauma center among elderly trauma patients (≥65 years) as compared to younger, adult patients (18-64 years). We hypothesized that elderly trauma patients would endure a longer time interval.

METHODS

This was a retrospective quality assurance study based on patient data in our trauma registry at the Trauma Center of Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet in Denmark. Data were extracted in the period between 2018 and 2023. We included all adult trauma patients (≥18 years) who underwent interhospital transfer to the trauma center. The primary outcome was minutes from arrival at the primary hospital to arrival at the trauma center. A quality standard of at least 90 % of patients arriving at the trauma center in <240 min after arrival at the primary hospital, was chosen.

RESULTS

In total, 565 patients were included and divided into an elderly cohort (n = 184) and a younger cohort (n = 381). The elderly cohort had a significantly longer median delay (247 vs. 197 min; estimated difference 50 min, 95 % confidence interval (CI) [28, 71]; p < 0.001). The elderly cohort met the quality standard less than the younger cohort (49 % vs. 68 %). The elderly cohort had a significantly higher injury severity score (17 [IQR 13, 25] vs. 16 [IQR 9, 21]; p < 0.001), and we found a significant difference in 30-day mortality, which was supported by an adjusted odds ratio of 6.35 (95 % CI [2.84, 15.7]; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, elderly trauma patients experienced significantly longer median delays from arrival at the primary hospital to arrival at the trauma center compared to younger adult trauma patients. The elderly trauma patients met the quality standard for transfer time at a lower rate than the younger group.

Prehospital time and mortality in pediatric trauma

PURPOSE

The "Golden Hour" of transportation to a hospital has long been accepted as a central principal of trauma care. However, this has not been studied in pediatric populations. We assessed for non-linearity of the relationship between prehospital time and mortality in pediatric trauma patients, redefining the threshold at which reducing this time led to more favorable outcomes.

METHODS

We performed an analysis of the 2017-2018 American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program, including trauma patients age < 18 years. We examined the association between prehospital time and odds of in-hospital mortality using linear, polynomial, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models, ultimately selecting the non-linear RCS model as the best fit.

RESULTS

60,670 patients were included in the study, of whom 1525 died and 3074 experienced complications. Prolonged prehospital time was associated with lower mortality and fewer complications. Both models demonstrated that mortality risk was lowest at 45-60 min, after which time was no longer associated with reduced probability of mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The demonstration of a non-linear relationship between pre-hospital time and patient mortality is a novel finding. We highlight the need to improve prehospital treatment and access to pediatric trauma centers while aiming for hospital transportation within 45 min.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on interhospital transfer of patients with major trauma in Korea: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Interhospital transfer (IHT) is necessary for providing ultimate care in the current emergency care system, particularly for patients with severe trauma. However, studies on IHT during the pandemic were limited. Furthermore, evidence on the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on IHT among patients with major trauma was lacking.

METHOD

This retrospective cohort study was conducted in an urban trauma center (TC) of a tertiary academic affiliated hospital in Daegu, Korea. The COVID-19 period was defined as from February 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021, whereas the pre-COVID-19 period was defined as the same duration of preceding span. Clinical data collected in each period were compared. We hypothesized that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted IHT.

RESULTS

A total of 2,100 individual patients were included for analysis. During the pandemic, the total number of IHTs decreased from 1,317 to 783 (- 40.5%). Patients were younger (median age, 63 [45-77] vs. 61[44-74] years, p = 0.038), and occupational injury was significantly higher during the pandemic (11.6% vs. 15.7%, p = 0.025). The trauma team activation (TTA) ratio was higher during the pandemic both on major trauma (57.3% vs. 69.6%, p = 0.006) and the total patient cohort (22.2% vs. 30.5%, p < 0.001). In the COVID-19 period, duration from incidence to the TC was longer (218 [158-480] vs. 263[180-674] minutes, p = 0.021), and secondary transfer was lower (2.5% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.025).

CONCLUSION

We observed that the total number of IHTs to the TC was reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, TTA was more frequent, particularly among patients with major trauma. Patients with severe injury experienced longer duration from incident to the TC and lesser secondary transfer from the TC during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Innovative emergency strategies for patients with severe traumatic brain injury: An IoT-based resource integration

Severe traumatic brain injury patients are in critical condition, and rapid rescue is very important for prognosis. Currently, the resuscitation process is complex and it is difficult to get to the operating room quickly to target treatment. We present a new strategy based on the Internet of Things system to integrate complex first aid procedures for efficient and comprehensive rescuing of patients with severe traumatic brain injury. This system includes three modules: human sign monitoring equipment, emergency transport equipment, and a network diagnosis and treatment progress control center. The system not only supports the streamlining of rescue procedures but also transmits the patient's status and optimal treatment strategies in real-time by using an advanced Internet of Things system. After deploying the system in a hospital, we conducted a validation study to evaluate its feasibility and superiority in clinical use. The preliminary results of the study show that this system can significantly shorten the treatment time, which may help the prognosis of severe traumatic brain injury patients.