Major trauma in older people: implications for anaesthesia and intensive care medicine

A comparative study of hip fracture care and outcomes in major trauma centres versus trauma units

INTRODUCTION

There is good evidence to support that major trauma networks significantly reduce morbidity and mortality in severely injured patients. However, following the introduction of major trauma centres (MTCs) in England in 2012, early concerns were raised regarding the effect on hip fracture patients. The aim of our study was to review data from the National Hip Fracture Database for fractured neck of femur (FNOF) patients, comparing patient outcomes between MTCs and trauma units (TUs), and the national regions of the UK.

METHODS

NHFD data from 2018 for all hospitals in England, Wales and NI was collected using the charts and dashboards available online. We recorded data for the following outcomes: time to surgery, acute hospital length of stay, overall hospital length of stay, discharge to original residence within 120 days, crude 30-day mortality and adjusted 30-day mortality. We conducted a one-way ANOVA test to calculate statistical differences for each outcome measure by MTC vs TU and then separately for the regions of the UK divided into England, Wales and Northern Ireland (NI).

RESULTS

Data for 175 hospitals are included in this study; 22 of which were MTCs. The total number of operative cases were 65,848. 9668 of these occurred in MTC compared to 56,180 in TUs. This equates to an annual average of 439 per MTC and 367 per TU. Despite this, there was no statistically significant difference observed in all outcomes for MTC vs TU. Patients in NI waited longer for their surgery (60.3 h, p < 0.001), whilst patients in Wales had the longest overall hospital length of stay (31.6 days, p < 0.001). However, there was no difference in patients' crude 30-day mortality (p = 0.480) or adjusted 30-day mortality (p = 0.191).

CONCLUSION

These findings are reassuring for MTCs in England. We found no evidence to suggest that FNOF patients are treated inferiorly, or have worse outcomes, at MTCs vs TUs. FNOF patients in NI waited longer for their surgery but this did not have any significant difference on 30-day mortality rates. The care of FNOF patients in NI may warrant further study.

The Use of Paravertebral Analgesia in the Management of Pain in the Elderly Patient With Rib Fractures

BACKGROUND

Elderly patients with rib fractures carry a high morbidity rate, particularly due to pulmonary complications as decreased respiratory efforts ensue secondary to pain. Risk of bleeds in the elderly on anticoagulant therapy is high. The effort to reduce narcotic use in patients is now a health care priority. We propose that the use of paravertebral analgesia (PVA) pumps is an alternative pain control method with less risk and easy placement.

METHODS

Two hundred and seventy-nine patients were admitted with multiple fractured ribs to the Trauma Center of Community Hospital and treated with the application of continuous PVA via a pump (72 patients). Pain scores were recorded before and after the initiation of the pump. These patients were compared with a group of the remaining 207 patients who received intravenous narcotics only.

RESULTS

The mean change from baseline in pain scores for all patients was 1.43 (SD = 2.75). The mean change in pain for the treatment group was 1.93 (SD = 2.60), and the change in pain for the control group was 1.24 (SD = 2.79). Change in pain differed between groups (1.3 vs 1.8; P = .01) although it was a small difference. After adjusting for age, gender, Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Scale, number of fractures, and comorbid conditions, there was no significant difference in pain post-procedure (odds ratio = 0.75; P = 0.39) with an effect size of 30% and total sample size of 279.

CONCLUSION

The PVA pump using bupivacaine is an effective safe and alternative method for managing elderly patients with rib fractures eliminating the serious side effects associated with narcotics.

Efficacy of the Treatment of Elderly Trauma Patients Requiring Intensive Care

Purpose

To evaluate the effectiveness of intensive care for the elderly trauma patients aged 80 years and older.

Methods

Trauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) through the emergency room (ER) at our hospital between January 2013 and December 2016 were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups: patients aged 80 and older (group E) and <80 years old (group Y). Clinical courses and the total treatment costs were compared between the two groups. Data are shown as median (interquartile range).

Results

A hundred and seven trauma patients were included in the study. There were 26 patients in group E and 81 patients in group Y. There was no significant difference in Injury Severity Score (ISS) (group E, 19 (13, 32); group Y, 17 (14, 25); p=0.708); however, the probability of survival (Ps) was significantly lower in group E (group E, 0.895 (0.757, 0.950); group Y, 0.955 (0.878, 0.986); p=0.004). The duration of ICU stay (days) was significantly longer in group E (10 (5, 23)) than in group Y (4 (3, 9); p=0.001), and the total hospital stay (days) was longer in group E (33 (13, 57)) than in group Y (22 (12, 42); p=0.179). The hospital mortality was higher in group E (11.5%) than in group Y (6.2%) without a significant difference (p=0.365). The total treatment costs were significantly higher in group E ($23,558 (12,456, 42,790) with $1 = ¥110.57) than in group Y ($16,538 (7,412, 25,422); p=0.023).

Conclusions

Elderly trauma patients require longer-term treatment including ICU stay and greater cost with higher hospital mortality compared with young trauma patients.