Prat S, Muñoz-Ortiz L, Navarro S, Koo M, Jiménez-Fábrega X, Martínez-Cruz O, Espallargues M. [Process indicators: tools for monitoring the management of severe trauma cases in Catalonia].
Emergencias 2016;
28:333-339. [PMID:
29106104]
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Process indicators have been widely used to monitor the way trauma care is provided. We aimed to analyze whether data from a hospital's severe trauma register could facilitate the evaluation of aspects of the initial management of severe injuries.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Observational, retrospective population-based study. A working group of experts selected a set of trauma care process indicators relevant to some aspects of initial care, diagnosis, and treatment of severely injured patients. Four of the indicators referred to prehospital care and 5 to hospital care. We calculated the observed and expected compliance rates for all the indicators.
RESULTS
A total of 1526 cases (44.4%) were analyzed for 2013; 1908 (55.6%) were analyzed for 2014. We were able to evaluate 3 of the 4 prehospital process indicators: endotracheal intubation in patients with a score of 8 on the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) (84% compliance), venous access established before hospital arrival (83.4%), and placement of a neck collar to immobilize the cervical spine (72.7%). Compliance for the hospital-phase indicators were as follows: performance of a computed tomography scan of the head within 60 minutes in cases with a GCS of 13 (5.3% compliance, craniotomy in candidate patients within 2 hours of diagnosis (65%), diagnostic examination for abdominal injuries within 60 minutes in patients with systolic blood pressure 90 mm Hg (89.3%), and therapeutic laparotomy or angiography within 4 hours of abdominal injury in candidate patients with systolic blood pressure 90 mm Hg (51.7%). Compliance was 69.9% for the last process indicator: surgical treatment of open fractures within 8 hours of an accident.
CONCLUSION
Our findings show that a hospital trauma register provides data about care process indicators that can allow us to monitor the quality of care of severely injured patients.
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