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Background Children who experience traumatic physical injuries are at risk of developing acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Early identification and treatment of these high-risk children can lead to improved mental health outcomes in this population. Objective This study assesses the feasibility of a study protocol that compares 3 screening tools for identifying patients at a high risk of later development of acute stress disorder or PTSD among pediatric trauma patients. Methods This pilot study compared 3 questionnaires used as screening tools for predictors of later development of PTSD in a convenience sample of pediatric trauma patients aged 7-17 years. Patients were randomized to one of 3 screening tools. Families were contacted at 30, 60, and 90-120 days postinjury to complete the Child Report of Post-Traumatic Symptoms questionnaire. The sensitivity and negative predictive value of the screening tools were compared for the diagnosis of PTSD defined using the Child Report of Post-Traumatic Symptoms questionnaire. Results Of the 263 patients identified for possible enrollment, 52 patients met full inclusion criteria and agreed to participate. Only 29 (55.7%) patients completed at least one follow-up questionnaire. The prevalence of acute stress disorder and PTSD in our population was 41% (95% CI [24, 61]) and 31% (95% CI [15, 51]), respectively. Conclusions In this pilot study, we sought to determine the utility of the 3 commonly used screening instruments for measuring traumatic stress symptoms in pediatric trauma patients to predict the diagnosis of acute stress disorder or PTSD. Limitations include the use of the Child Report of Post-Traumatic Symptoms screening tool as the gold standard for calculating test characteristics and lack of 24/7 enrollment capabilities. As such, a significant portion of patients were discharged prior to our teams' engagement for enrollment.

Background Emergency medical personnel must expeditiously triage acutely injured patients to the appropriate medical facility. Efficient and objective variables to facilitate this process and provide information to the receiving trauma center are needed. Currently, multiple variables are used to prognosticate injury severity and risk of mortality including vital signs, mental status, lactate, and base excess. We investigated the prehospital use of end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) as a noninvasive physiologic measure that can be obtained in the acutely injured patient. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 557 acutely injured patients over 2 years at a Level 1 trauma center. All patients arriving as trauma activations with ETCO2 measurements were included in analysis. End-tidal carbon dioxide measurements were categorized as low, normal, and high based on reference levels. Mortality was the primary outcome. Secondary receiver operator curves (ROC) for base excess, venous lactate, blood pressure, and venous pH were compared. We hypothesized ETCO2 levels would be able to predict mortality. Results End-tidal carbon dioxide levels conferred a mortality rate of 38%, 17.3%, and 2.9% for low, normal, and high, respectively ( P < .001). Receiver operator curve analysis produced an area under the curve predictive value for ETCO2 (.748) which was superior to lactate (.660), SBP (.578), pH (.560), and base excess (.497). Discussion End-tidal carbon dioxide is a more sensitive and specific predictor of mortality in the acutely injured patient compared to venous lactate, base deficit, blood pressure, or venous pH. Additional studies are needed to determine if ETCO2 can be used as an effective prehospital adjunct to prevent mortality in acutely injured patients.

Background Operative management of emergency general surgery (EGS) diagnoses involves a range of procedures which can carry high morbidity and mortality. Little is known about the impact of obesity on patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) >30 kg/m2 and mortality for EGS patients. We hypothesized that obese patients would have increased mortality rates. Methods A regional integrated health system EGS registry derived from The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma EGS ICD-9 codes was analyzed from January 2013 to October 2015. Patients were stratified into BMI categories based on WHO classifications. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Longer-term mortality with linkage to the Social Security Death Index was also examined. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed. Results A total of 60 604 encounters were identified and 7183 (11.9%) underwent operative intervention. Patient characteristics include 53% women, mean age 58.2 ± 18.7 years, 64.2% >BMI 30 kg/m2, 30.2% with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 19% with congestive heart failure, and 31.1% with diabetes. The most common procedure was laparoscopic cholecystectomy (36.4%). Overall, 90-day mortality was 10.9%. In multivariable analysis, all classes of obesity were protective against mortality compared to normal BMI. Underweight patients had increased risk of inpatient (OR = 1.9, CI = 1.7-2.3), 30-day (OR = 1.9, CI = 1.7-2.1), 90-day (OR = 1.8, CI 1.6-2.0), 1-year (OR = 1.8, CI = 1.7-2.0), and 3-year mortality (OR = 1.7, CI = 1.6-1.9). Conclusions When stratified by BMI, underweight EGS patients have the highest odds of death. Paradoxically, obesity appears protective against death, even when controlling for potentially confounding factors. Increased rates of nonoperative management in the obese population may impact these findings.

Background The clinical significance of obtaining cardiac troponin (cTn) levels among trauma patients with new onset arrhythmias is unknown. We aimed to assess whether cTn levels actually influence clinical decision making or represent an inappropriate use of resources. Methods Trauma patients admitted from 2013 to 2014 diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) were retrospectively reviewed using the institutional trauma database. Demographics, cTn levels, and myocardial infarction (MI) diagnosis data were recorded. Standard univariate tests were used to compare data between patients with and without cTn. Results There were 258 patients included of which 126 patients had cTn levels obtained (48.8%, TEST group). The remaining 132 patients (51.2%) were untested (noTEST group). Among TEST patients, use of echocardiography nearly doubled and cardiology consultations increased (all p Conclusions Obtaining cTn values in trauma patients with new-onset AF resulted in increased resource utilization without clinical utility.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volume and outcomes of Acute Care Surgery patients, and we hypothesized that inpatient mortality would increase due to COVID+ and resource constraints.An American College of Surgeons verified Level I Trauma Center's trauma and operative emergency general surgery (EGS) registries were queried for all patients from Jan. 2019 to Dec. 2020. April 1st, 2020, was the demarcation date for pre- and during COVID pandemic. Primary outcome was inpatient mortality.There were 14,460 trauma and 3091 EGS patients, and month-over-month volumes of both remained similar (p 0.05). Blunt trauma decreased by 7.4% and penetrating increased by 31%, with a concomitant 25% increase in initial operative management (p 0.001). Despite this, trauma (3.7%) and EGS (2.9-3.0%) mortality rates remained stable which was confirmed on multivariate analysis; p 0.05. COVID + mortality was 8.8% and 3.7% in trauma and EGS patients, respectively.Acute Care Surgeons provided high quality care to trauma and EGS patients during the pandemic without allowing excess mortality despite many hardships and resource constraints.

Interfacility transfers are necessary and valuable for the trauma system, but despite regional guidelines, many patients are inappropriately transferred. We evaluated over-triage at our Level I center and identified risk factors for over-triage.Retrospective analysis at our Level I urban trauma center assessed patients transferred from regional facilities during 2017. Over-triage was defined as patients discharged48 h without procedures. Exclusion criteria were leaving against medical advice or no outside records.Overall, 2352 patients met criteria. Nine hundred thirty (39.5%) with complete hospital records were discharged in48 h; 498 (53.5%) received no procedural intervention and 909 (97.7%) were ultimately discharged home.Many patients are inappropriately transferred to tertiary care centers without a definitive need for advanced services. Studies are needed to improve triage criteria without increasing under-triage.

Emergent surgeries have different causes and physiologic patient responses than the same elective surgery, many of which are due to infectious etiologies. Therefore, we hypothesized that emergency cases have a higher risk of postoperative SSI than their elective counterparts. The ACS NSQIP database was queried from 2005 to 2016 for all cholecystectomies, ventral hernia repairs, and partial colectomies to examine common emergency and elective general surgery operations. Thirty-day outcomes were compared by emergent status. Any SSI was the primary outcome. There were 863,164 surgeries: 416,497 cholecystectomies, 220,815 ventral hernia repairs, and 225,852 partial colectomies. SSIs developed in 38,865 (4.5%) patients. SSIs increased with emergencies (5.3% vs 3.6% for any SSI). Postoperative sepsis (5.8% vs 1.5%), septic shock (4.7% vs 0.6%), length of stay (8.1 vs 2.9 days), and mortality (3.6% vs 0.4%) were increased in emergent surgery; P < 0.001 for all. When controlling for age, gender, BMI, diabetes, smoking, wound classification, comorbidities, functional status, and procedure on multivariate analysis, emergency surgery (odds ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 1.11–1.19) was independently associated with the development of SSI. Patients undergoing emergency general surgery experience increased rates of SSI. Patients and their families should be appropriately counseled regarding these elevated risks when consenting for emergency surgery.

The role of prophylactic vena cava filters (pVCFs) in trauma patients remains controversial. After 20 years of data collection and experience, we reviewed our venous thromboembolism guideline for the efficacy of pVCFs in preventing pulmonary embolism (PE). A retrospective cohort study was performed using our Level I trauma center registry from January 1997 thru December 2016. This population was then divided by the presence of pVCFs. Univariate analysis was performed comparing the incidence of PEs, deep vein thrombosis, and mortality between those with and without a pVCF. There were 35,658 patients identified, of whom 2 per cent (n = 847) received pVCFs. The PE rate was 0.4 per cent in both groups. The deep vein thrombosis rate for pVCFs was 3.9 per cent compared with 0.6 per cent in the no-VCF group ( P < 0.0001). Given that there was no difference in the rates of PEs between the cohorts, the subset of patients with a PE were analyzed by their risk factors. Only ventilator days > 3 were associated with a higher risk in the no-pVCF group (0.2 vs 1.5%, P = 0.033). pVCFs did not confer benefit reducing PE rate. In addition, despite their intended purpose, pVCFs cannot eliminate PEs in high-risk trauma patients, suggesting a lack of utility for prophylaxis in this population.

Background Emergency general surgery (EGS) patients presenting at tertiary care hospitals may bypass local hospitals with adequate resources. However, many tertiary care hospitals frequently operate at capacity. We hypothesized that understanding patient geographic origin could identify opportunities for enhanced system triage and optimization and be an important first step for EGS regionalization and care coordination that could potentially lead to improved utilization of resources. Methods We analyzed patient zip code and categorized EGS patients who were cared for at our tertiary care hospital as potentially divertible if the southern region hospital was geographically closer to their home, regional hospital admission (RHA) patients, or local admission (LA) patients if the tertiary care facility was closer. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared for RHA and LA patients. Results Of 14 714 EGS patients presenting to the tertiary care hospital, 30.2% were categorized as RHA patients. Overall, 1526 (10.4%) patients required an operation including 527 (34.5%) patients who were potentially divertible. Appendectomy and cholecystectomy comprised 66% of the operations for potentially divertible patients. Length of stay was not significantly different ( P = .06) for RHA patients, but they did have lower measured short-term and long-term mortality when compared to their LA counterparts ( P < .05). Conclusions EGS diagnoses and patient geocode analysis can identify opportunities to optimize regional operating room and bed utilization. Understanding where EGS patients are cared for and factors that influenced care facility will be critical for next steps in developing EGS regionalization within our system.

Introduction The intended purpose of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to expand access to health care insurance for all Americans. In our study, we examine the association of Medicaid enrollment status, health care outcomes, and financial outcomes for trauma patients at a level I urban trauma center in a state that did not expand Medicaid coverage under the ACA. Methods We retrospectively reviewed trauma admissions from 2011 to 2016, via the trauma registry (n = 36,250). A subgroup of Medicaid patients (n = 8840) was identified and compared for changes in selected variables and demographics following ACA implementation. The association of Medicaid payor status, by 3 year average pre-ACA (n = 3516) and post-ACA (n = 3324), on patient outcomes, payments collected, and accrued costs of care were analyzed. Results Three-year Medicaid median actual payments decreased 7.5% following implementation of the ACA ($4072 vs. $3767, P < .01). In contrast, the Medicaid median total cost of care increased 23% ($3964 vs. $4882, P < .01). The rate of patients insured by Medicaid decreased (24.0% vs. 16.2%, PDiscussion Medicaid payor status under the ACA was associated with a decrease in actual payments and an increase in total cost of care. Moreover, the divergence in actual payments collected with the increased total cost of care warrants examination to ascertain the root cause in efforts to reduce this widening gap.

Hereinafter is the article for the 2021 Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma presidential address, which was delivered in a virtual format. It is my hope that I have served Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma well through the years, and I have no doubt that this organization will continue its great path under the leadership of President Jeff Claridge, a true leader of character and value for whom I have great respect. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to serve this great beloved organization. Hopefully, this address brings word of inspiration, value, and encouragement to those who serve so selflessly every day as members of our respective trauma teams.

Introduction Patients who sustain orthopaedic trauma are at an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), including fatal pulmonary embolism (PE). Current guidelines recommend low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for VTE prophylaxis in orthopaedic trauma patients. However, emerging literature in total joint arthroplasty patients suggests the potential clinical benefits of VTE prophylaxis with aspirin. The primary aim of this trial is to compare aspirin with LMWH as a thromboprophylaxis in fracture patients. Methods and analysis PREVENT CLOT is a multicentre, randomised, pragmatic trial that aims to enrol 12 200 adult patients admitted to 1 of 21 participating centres with an operative extremity fracture, or any pelvis or acetabular fracture. The primary outcome is all-cause mortality. We will evaluate non-inferiority by testing whether the intention-to-treat difference in the probability of dying within 90 days of randomisation between aspirin and LMWH is less than our non-inferiority margin of 0.75%. Secondary efficacy outcomes include cause-specific mortality, non-fatal PE and deep vein thrombosis. Safety outcomes include bleeding complications, wound complications and deep surgical site infections. Ethics and dissemination The PREVENT CLOT trial has been approved by the ethics board at the coordinating centre (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) and all participating sites. Recruitment began in April 2017 and will continue through 2021. As both study medications are currently in clinical use for VTE prophylaxis for orthopaedic trauma patients, the findings of this trial can be easily adopted into clinical practice. The results of this large, patient-centred pragmatic trial will help guide treatment choices to prevent VTE in fracture patients. Trial registration number NCT02984384.

The concept of hemodilution after blood loss and crystalloid infusion is a surgical maxim that remains unproven in humans. We sought to quantify the effect of hemodilution after crystalloid administration in voluntary blood donors as a model for acute hemorrhage.A prospective, randomized control trial was conducted in conjunction with community blood drives. Donors were randomized to receive no IV fluid (noIVF), 2 liters of normal saline (NS), or 2 liters lactated Ringer's (LR) after blood donation. Blood samples were taken before donation of 500 mL of blood, immediately after donation, and after IV fluid administration. Hemoglobin (Hgb) was measured at each time point. Hemoglobin measurements between time points were compared between groups using standard statistical tests and the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.0167.Of 165 patients consented, 157 patients completed the study. Average pre-donation Hgb was 14.3 g/dL. There was no difference in the mean Hgb levels after blood donation between the 3 groups (p0.05). Compared with the control group, there was a significant drop in Hgb in the crystalloid infused groups from the post-donation level to post-resuscitation (13.2 vs 12.1 vs 12.2 g/dL, p0.0001). A formula was created to predict hemoglobin levels from a given estimated blood loss (EBL) and volume replacement (VR): Hemodilution Hgb = (mean pre-donation Hgb - hemorrhage Hgb drop - equilibration hemoglobin drop - resuscitation Hgb drop) = Mean pre-donation Hgb - [(EBL/TBV)*l] - [(EBL/TBV)*h] - [(VR/TBV)*r], l = 5.111g/dL = blood loss coefficient, h = 6.722 g/dL = equilibration coefficient, r = 2.617g/dL = resuscitation coefficient.This study proves the concept of hemodilution and derived a mathematical relationship between blood loss and resuscitation. These data may help to estimate response of hemoglobin levels to blood loss and fluid resuscitation in clinical practice.

Conditions of systemic stress can lead to increased reactive oxygen species production, mitochondrial dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and multiorgan dysfunction. Triphenylphosphonium (TPP1) is a lipophilic cation used to target therapeutics to mitochondria. We sought to determine the effects of TPP1 on mitochondrial integrity. Male rats were anesthetized and TPP1 (5 mg/kg) or vehicle (saline) was administered intravenously 30-minutes after anesthesia initiation and intraperitoneally (20 mg/kg) 60-minutes later. Rats were exsanguinated 2-hours postinjection. Cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, splenic, and renal tissues were analyzed for inflammation, lipid peroxidation, endogenous antioxidant activity, cytokine expression, and mitochondrial function. In vitro modeling was performed using freshly isolated hepatocytes subjected to 8-hours hypoxia/30-minutes reoxygenation in the absence or presence of TPP1. TPP1 increased lipid peroxidation in the liver, lung, and kidney as well as antioxidant activity in the liver, kidney, and spleen. Conversely, antioxidant activity decreased in the lung with TPP1. In addition, TPP1 altered hepatic inflammatory mediators. In vitro, TPP1 attenuated oxygen consumption and, when combined with hypoxic injury, depolarized mitochondrial membranes in hepatocytes. TPP1 induces systemic responses associated with oxidative stress and worsening pathologies in animals. Caution should be exercised when employing TPP1 for therapeutics.

BACKGROUND The National Center for Statistics and Analysis reports at least eight deaths and 1,160 daily injuries due to distracted driving (DD) in the United States. Drivers younger than 20 years are most likely to incur a distraction-related fatal crash. We aimed to determine short- and long-term impact of a multimodal educational program including student-developed interventions, simulated driving experiences, and presentations by law enforcement and medical personnel. METHODS A single-day program aimed at teen DD prevention was conducted at a high school targeting students aged 15 years to 19 years old. Students were surveyed before, after, and at 6 weeks. We surveyed age, gender, knowledge, and experience regarding DD. Summary statistics were obtained at each survey time point. Bivariate and multivariable analysis were conducted to assess whether change in responses varied over time points. Multivariable models were adjusted for sex and urban and rural driving. RESULTS Preintervention, postintervention, and 6-week follow-up surveys were completed by 359, 272 (76%), and 331 (92%) students, respectively. At baseline and 6-week follow-up, the most frequent passenger-reported DD behaviors were cell phone (63% [63% at follow-up) and radio use (61% [63%]). Similarly, the most frequent driver-reported DD behaviors were cell phone (68% [72%]) and radio use (79% [80%]). When students were asked, "How likely are you to use your cell phone while driving?" they answered "never" 35%, 70%, and 46% on the preintervention, postintervention, and 6-week surveys. They were less likely to report consequences to be worse or change in attitude to a great extent at 6 weeks (p < 0.01). Gender and urban or rural driving were not significantly associated with responses. CONCLUSIONS While DD education may facilitate short-term knowledge and attitude changes, there appears to be no lasting effect. Research should be focused toward strategies for longer-term impact. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, level II.

We hypothesized that a pH of7.0 on presentation would correlate with almost universal mortality in trauma patients.A retrospective cohort study was performed on a Level I trauma center registry from 2013 to 2014. Hospital mortality was the primary outcome, which was compared by pH cohort (7.0 or ≥7.0) using standard univariate statistics and multivariate logistic regression.There were 593 patients included in the analysis: 66 in7.0, 527 in ≥7.0. Mortality was 3× higher in the7.0 pH cohort (62.1 vs. 20.3%; p 0.0001), however there was no threshold for a pH below which there was 100% mortality. After controlling for these confounding variables, initial pH was found to be an independent predictor of inpatient mortality: pH 7.0 (OR 6.33, 3.29-12.19; p 0.0001).This data indicates that while patients with severe acidosis are at increased risk for mortality, a pH 7.0 is still recoverable in select cases.

Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants, collectively known as advanced practitioners (APs), enhance the provision of care for the acutely injured patient. Despite their prevalence, institutions employ, train, and utilize these providers with significant variability. The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST), the Society of Trauma Nurses (STN), and the American Association of Surgical Physicians Assistants (AASPA) acknowledge the value of APs and support their utilization in the management of injured and critically ill patients. This position paper offers insight into the history of, scope of practice for, and opportunities for optimal utilization of APs in trauma, critical care, and acute care surgery services.

We assessed the effectiveness of the implementation of an institutional massive transfusion protocol (MTP) for resuscitation with a 1:1:1 transfusion ratio of packed red blood cell (PRBC), fresh frozen plasma, and platelet units. In a Level I trauma center database, all trauma admissions (2004–2012) that received massive transfusions (≥10 units PRBCs in the first 24 hours) were reviewed retrospectively. Demographic data, transfusion ratios, and outcomes were compared before (PRE) and after (POST) MTP implementation in May 2008. Age, sex, and mechanism of injury were similar between 239 PRE and 208 POST trauma patients requiring massive transfusion. Transfusion ratios of fresh frozen plasma:PRBC and platelet:PRBC increased after MTP implementation. Among survivors, MTP implementation shortened hospital length of stay from 31 to 26 days (P = 0.04) and intensive care unit length of stay from 31 to 26 days (P = 0.02). Linear regression identified treatment after (versus before) implementation of MTP as an independent predictor of decreased ventilator days after adjusting for age, Glasgow Coma Scale, and chest Abbreviated Injury Score (P < 0.0001). Modest improvement in ratios likely does not account for all significant improvements in outcomes. Implementing a standardized protocol likely impacts automation, efficiency, and/or timeliness of product delivery.

The role of prophylactic vena cava filters (pVCFs) in trauma patients remains controversial. After 20 years of data collection and experience, we reviewed our venous thromboembolism guideline for the efficacy of pVCFs in preventing pulmonary embolism (PE). A retrospective cohort study was performed using our Level I trauma center registry from January 1997 thru December 2016. This population was then divided by the presence of pVCFs. Univariate analysis was performed comparing the incidence of PEs, deep vein thrombosis, and mortality between those with and without a pVCF. There were 35,658 patients identified, of whom 2 per cent (n = 847) received pVCFs. The PE rate was 0.4 per cent in both groups. The deep vein thrombosis rate for pVCFs was 3.9 per cent compared with 0.6 per cent in the no-VCF group (

Emergent surgeries have different causes and physiologic patient responses than the same elective surgery, many of which are due to infectious etiologies. Therefore, we hypothesized that emergency cases have a higher risk of postoperative SSI than their elective counterparts. The ACS NSQIP database was queried from 2005 to 2016 for all cholecystectomies, ventral hernia repairs, and partial colectomies to examine common emergency and elective general surgery operations. Thirty-day outcomes were compared by emergent status. Any SSI was the primary outcome. There were 863,164 surgeries: 416,497 cholecystectomies, 220,815 ventral hernia repairs, and 225,852 partial colectomies. SSIs developed in 38,865 (4.5%) patients. SSIs increased with emergencies (5.3%

Background The aim of this study was to determine whether the implementation of a dedicated multiprofessional acute trauma health care (mPATH) team would decrease length of stay without adversely impacting outcomes of patients with severe traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. The mPATH team was comprised of a physical, occupational, speech, and respiratory therapist, nurse navigator, social worker, advanced care provider, and physician who performed rounds on the subset of trauma patients with these injuries from the intensive care unit to discharge. Methods Following the formation and implementation of the mPATH team at our Level I trauma center, a retrospective cohort study was performed comparing patients in the year immediately prior to the introduction of the mPATH team (n = 60) to those in the first full year following implementation (n = 70). Demographics were collected for both groups. Inclusion criteria were Glasgow Coma Scale score less than 8 on postinjury Day 2, all paraplegic and quadriplegic patients, and patients older than 55 years with central cord syndrome who underwent tracheostomy. The primary endpoint was length of stay; secondary endpoints were time to tracheostomy, days to evaluation by occupational, physical, and speech therapy, 30-day readmission, and 30-day mortality. Results The median time to evaluation by occupational, physical, and speech therapy was universally decreased. Injury Severity Score was 27 in both cohorts. Time to tracheostomy and length of stay were both decreased. Thirty-day readmission and mortality rates remained unchanged. A cost savings of US $11,238 per index hospitalization was observed. Conclusion In the year following the initiation of the mPATH team, we observed earlier time to occupational, physical, and speech therapist evaluation, decreased length of stay, and cost savings in severe traumatic brain and spinal cord injury patients requiring tracheostomy compared with our historical control. These benefits were observed without adversely impacting 30-day readmission or mortality. Level of evidence Therapeutic/care management, Level III.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is defined as Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 14 or 15. Despite good outcomes, patients are commonly transferred to trauma centers for observation and/or neurosurgical consultation. The aim of this study is to assess the value of redefining mTBI with novel radiographic criteria to determine the appropriateness of interhospital transfer for neurosurgical evaluation.A retrospective study of patients with blunt head injury with GCS 13-15 and CT head from Jan 2014-Dec 2016 was performed. A novel criteria of head CT findings was created at our institution to classify mTBI. Outcomes included neurosurgical intervention and transfer cost.A total of 2120 patients were identified with 1442 (68.0%) meeting CT criteria for mTBI and 678 (32.0%) classified high risk. Two (0.14%) patients with mTBI required neurosurgical intervention compared with 143 (21.28%) high risk TBI (p 0.0001). Mean age (55.8 years), and anticoagulation (2.6% vs 2.8%) or antiplatelet use (2.1% vs 3.0%) was similar between groups (p 0.05). Of patients with mTBI, 689 were transferred without receiving neurosurgical intervention. Given an average EMS transfer cost of $700 for ground and $5800 for air, we estimate an unnecessary transfer cost of $733,600.Defining mTBI with the described novel criteria clearly identifies patients who can be safely managed without transfer for neurosurgical consultation. These unnecessary transfers represent a substantial financial and resource burden to the trauma system and inconvenience to patients.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was first diagnosed in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has now spread throughout the world, being verified by the World Health Organization as a pandemic on March 11. This had led to the calling of a national emergency on March 13 in the US. Many hospitals, healthcare networks, and specifically, departments of surgery, are asking the same questions about how to cope and plan for surge capacity, personnel attrition, novel infrastructure utilization, and resource exhaustion. Herein, we present a tiered plan for surgical department planning based on incident command levels. This includes acute care surgeon deployment (given their critical care training and vertically integrated position in the hospital), recommended infrastructure and transfer utilization, triage principles, and faculty, resident, and advanced care practitioner deployment.

Background Over 50,000 homicides and suicides occur each year. An estimated half of all US households are believed to have a firearm present, making them one of the most ubiquitous consumer products. Our goal was to determine if the manner of storage of a firearm in a home could potentially make a difference in the outcomes of intentional and unintentional injuries involving a firearm; specifically addressing the use of gun safes and devices that block/disable firearm function (trigger locks, cable locks, etc.). Methods A comprehensive review of the literature was performed. We used Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology to assess the breadth and quality of the data specific to our Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) questions. Results A total of 176 studies were initially identified, then, 120 more added after a subsequent literature review, with 97 removed as duplicates. One hundred ninety-one case reports, case series, and reviews were removed because they did not focus on prevention or did not address our comparators of interest. This left a total of two studies which merited inclusion for PICO 1, should gun locks be used to prevent firearm injuries and six studies which merited inclusion for PICO 2, should safe storage for guns be used to prevent firearm injuries. Conclusion PICO 1: We conditionally recommend that gun locks be used to prevent unintentional firearm injury. PICO 2: Because of the large effect size and the reasonable quality of available evidence with safe storage of firearms, we recommend safe storage prevent firearm-related injuries. Level of evidence Systematic review, level III.

Introduction The National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study (NEXUS) clinical decision rule is extremely sensitive for clearance of cervical spine (C-spine) injury in blunt trauma patients with distracting injuries. Objectives We sought to determine whether the NEXUS criteria would maintain sensitivity for blunt trauma patients when femur fractures were not considered a distracting injury and an absolute indication for diagnostic imaging. Methods We retrospectively analyzed blunt trauma patients with at least 1 femur fracture who presented to our emergency department as trauma activations from 2009 to 2011 and underwent C-spine injury evaluation. Presence of C-spine injury requiring surgical intervention was evaluated. Results Of 566 trauma patients included, 77 (13.6%) were younger than 18 years. Cervical spine injury was diagnosed in 53 (9.4%) of 566. A total of 241 patients (42.6%) had positive NEXUS findings in addition to distracting injury; 51 (21.2%) of these had C-spine injuries. Of 325 patients (57.4%) with femur fractures who were otherwise NEXUS negative, only 2 (0.6%) had C-spine injuries (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.2%-2.2%); both were stable and required no operative intervention. Use of NEXUS criteria, excluding femur fracture as an indication for imaging, detected all significant injuries with a sensitivity for any C-spine injury of 96.2% (95% CI, 85.9%-99.3%) and negative predictive value of 99.4% (95% CI, 97.6%-99.9%). Conclusions In our patient population, all significant C-spine injuries were identified by NEXUS criteria without considering the femur fracture a distracting injury and indication for computed tomographic imaging. Reconsidering femur fracture in this context may decrease radiation exposure and health care expenditure with little risk of missed diagnoses.

Conditions of systemic stress can lead to increased reactive oxygen species production, mitochondrial dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and multiorgan dysfunction. Triphenylphosphonium (TPP+) is a lipophilic cation used to target therapeutics to mitochondria. We sought to determine the effects of TPP+ on mitochondrial integrity. Male rats were anesthetized and TPP+ (5 mg/kg) or vehicle (saline) was administered intravenously 30-minutes after anesthesia initiation and intraperitoneally (20 mg/kg) 60-minutes later. Rats were exsanguinated 2-hours postinjection. Cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, splenic, and renal tissues were analyzed for inflammation, lipid peroxidation, endogenous antioxidant activity, cytokine expression, and mitochondrial function. In vitro modeling was performed using freshly isolated hepatocytes subjected to 8-hours hypoxia/30-minutes reoxygenation in the absence or presence of TPP+. TPP+ increased lipid peroxidation in the liver, lung, and kidney as well as antioxidant activity in the liver, kidney, and spleen. Conversely, antioxidant activity decreased in the lung with TPP+. In addition, TPP+ altered hepatic inflammatory mediators. In vitro, TPP+ attenuated oxygen consumption and, when combined with hypoxic injury, depolarized mitochondrial membranes in hepatocytes. TPP+ induces systemic responses associated with oxidative stress and worsening pathologies in animals. Caution should be exercised when employing TPP+ for therapeutics.

We assessed the effectiveness of the implementation of an institutional massive transfusion protocol (MTP) for resuscitation with a 1:1:1 transfusion ratio of packed red blood cell (PRBC), fresh frozen plasma, and platelet units. In a Level I trauma center database, all trauma admissions (2004-2012) that received massive transfusions (≥10 units PRBCs in the first 24 hours) were reviewed retrospectively. Demographic data, transfusion ratios, and outcomes were compared before (PRE) and after (POST) MTP implementation in May 2008. Age, sex, and mechanism of injury were similar between 239 PRE and 208 POST trauma patients requiring massive transfusion. Transfusion ratios of fresh frozen plasma:PRBC and platelet:PRBC increased after MTP implementation. Among survivors, MTP implementation shortened hospital length of stay from 31 to 26 days (P = 0.04) and intensive care unit length of stay from 31 to 26 days (P = 0.02). Linear regression identified treatment after (versus before) implementation of MTP as an independent predictor of decreased ventilator days after adjusting for age, Glasgow Coma Scale, and chest Abbreviated Injury Score (P0.0001). Modest improvement in ratios likely does not account for all significant improvements in outcomes. Implementing a standardized protocol likely impacts automation, efficiency, and/or timeliness of product delivery.

Transfer of severely injured patients to regional trauma centers is often expedited; however, transfer of less-injured, older patients may not evoke the same urgency. We examined referring hospitals’ length of stay (LOS) and compared the subsequent outcomes in less-injured transfer patients (TP) with patients presenting directly (DP) to the trauma center. We reviewed the medical records of less-injured (Injury Severity Score [ISS] 9 or less), older (age older than 60 years) patients transferred to a regional Level 1 trauma center to determine the referring facility LOS, demographics, and injury information. Outcomes of the TP were then compared with similarly injured DP using local trauma registry data. In 2011, there were 1657 transfers; the referring facility LOS averaged greater than 3 hours. In the less-injured patients (ISS 9 or less), the average referring facility LOS was 3 hours 20 minutes compared with 2 hours 24 minutes in more severely injured patients (ISS 25 or greater, P < 0.05). The mortality was significantly lower in the DP patients (5.8% TP vs 2.6% DP, P = 0.035). Delays in transfer of less-injured, older trauma patients can result in poor outcomes including increased mortality. Geographic challenges do not allow for every patient to be transported directly to a trauma center. As a result, we propose further outreach efforts to identify potential causes for delay and to promote compliance with regional referral guidelines.

Return transfer (RT) to the intensive care unit (ICU) negatively impacts patient outcomes, length of stay (LOS), and hospital costs. This study assesses the most common events necessitating RT in trauma patients. We performed a retrospective chart review of ICU RT from 2004 to 2008. Patient demographics, injuries and injury severity, reason for transfer, LOS, interventions, and outcomes data were collected. Overall, 158 patients required readmission to the ICU. Respiratory insufficiency/ failure (48%) was the most common reason for RT followed by cardiac (16%) and neurological (13%) events. The most commonly associated injuries were traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) (32%), rib fractures (30%), and pulmonary contusions (20%). Initial ICU LOS was 6.6 ± 8 days (range, 1 to 44 days) with 4.4 ± 7.8 ventilator days. Mean floor time before ICU RT was 5.7 ± 6.3 days (range, 0 to 33 days). Forty-nine patients (31%) required intubation and mechanical ventilation on RT. ICU RT incurred an additional ICU LOS of 8 ± 8.5 days (range, 1 to 40 days) and 5.2 ± 7.5 ventilator days. Mortality after a single RT was 10 per cent (n = 16). RT to the ICU most often occurs as a result of respiratory compromise, and patients with TBI are particularly vulnerable. Trauma pulmonary hygiene practices should be evaluated to determine strategies that could decrease RT.

BACKGROUND In the era of resident work hour restrictions, many trauma centers across the country have incorporated advanced clinical providers (ACPs) as integral partners in the care of critically ill patients. In addition to providing daily care, ACPs have also begun performing invasive procedures. Few studies have addressed ACPs procedural complications. The purpose of this study was to compare the complication rates from surgical procedures performed by resident physicians (RPs) and ACPs in the critical care setting. METHODS We conducted a retrospective review of all procedures performed from January to December of 2011 in our trauma and surgical intensive care units. Under attending supervision, ACPs performed procedures for surgical critical care patients and RPs for trauma patients. Procedures consisted of arterial lines, central venous lines, bronchoalveolar lavage, thoracostomy tubes, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, and tracheostomies. Data included demographics, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III scores, complications, and outcomes and were divided into RP versus ACP groups. Complications were assessed by postprocedure radiography, operative notes, and postprocedure notes. Dichotomous data were compared using χ and continuous variables by Student's t tests. RESULTS There were a total of 1,404 patients; the mean ± SE Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III score for patients in the RP group was 40.8 ± 0.9 compared with ACP group at 47.7 ± 0.7 (p < 0.05). Our RPs performed 1,020 procedures, and 21 complications were noted (complication rate, 2%). The ACPs completed 555 procedures; 11 complications were incurred (complication rate, 2%). There were no difference in the mean ± SE intensive care unit (RP, 3.9 ± 0.2 days vs. ACP, 3.7± 0.1 days) and hospital (RP, 12.2 ± 0.4 days vs. ACP, 13.3 ± 0.3 days) length of stay. Mortality rates were also comparable between the two groups (RP, 11% vs. ACP, 9.7%). CONCLUSION In critically ill patients, ACPs can competently perform invasive procedures safely. Our ACPs' responsibilities can be expanded to include invasive procedures in the critical care setting with appropriate supervision. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, level IV.

Background Management of destructive colon injuries during damage control (DC) laparotomy is debated. The authors reviewed a single institution's experience with destructive colon injuries to identify risk factors for anastomotic failure after colon reconstruction. Methods The authors identified all trauma patients sustaining destructive colon injuries between 2002 and 2011 from their medical center's trauma registry. Anastomotic leak was defined as suture or staple line disruption or enteral fistula formation. Results Of 171 identified patients, 68 had DC procedures, 41 (60%) had subsequent anastomoses performed during the same hospitalization, and 27 (40%) were diverted. The colon anastomotic leak rate in patients who underwent DC laparotomy was higher than in patients who were reconstructed at the primary operation in a non-DC setting (17% vs 6%, P = .09). The use of vasopressors after the initial DC operation more than quadrupled the leak rate to 50% ( P = .02). Conclusions Colonic anastomotic disruptions yield deadly consequences, and diversion rather than anastomosis should be used in patients who require vasopressor support after the initial DC procedure.

BACKGROUND Aeromedical transport (AMT) is an effective but costly means of rescuing critically injured patients. Although studies have shown that it improves survival to hospital discharge compared with ground transportation, an efficient threshold or universal criteria for this mode of transport remains to be established. Herein, we examined the effect of implementing a Trauma Advisory Committee (TAC) initiative focused on reducing AMT overtriage (OT) rates. METHODS TAC outreach coordinators implemented a process improvement (PI) initiative and collected data prospectively from January 2007 to December 2011. OT was defined as patients who were airlifted from scene and later discharged from the emergency department. Serving as liaisons to surrounding counties, TAC outreach coordinators conducted quarterly PI meetings with local emergency medical service agencies. Patients were grouped into those who were airlifted from TAC counties versus counties outside TAC's jurisdiction (non-TAC). Standard statistical methods were used. RESULTS From 2007 to 2011, 3,349 patients were airlifted from 30 counties, 1,427 (43%) from TAC counties and 1,922 (57%) from non-TAC counties. The OT rates from TAC counties declined compared with non-TAC counties each year and reached statistical significance in 2008 (17% vs. 23%, p < 0.05), 2009 (11% vs. 17%m p < 0.05), and 2011 (6% vs. 12%, p < 0.05). The reduction in OT continued over the study duration, with improvement in TAC counties compared with previous years. CONCLUSION Implementation of a regional TAC PI initiative focused on OT issues led to a more efficient use of AMT. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic study, level III; therapeutic study, level IV.

Blunt thoracic aortic injury (BAI) represents the second leading cause of death from blunt trauma. Admission rates for BAI are extremely low because instant fatality occurs in nearly 75 per cent of patients. Management strategies have transitioned from the more invasive immediate thoracotomy to delayed endograft repair with strict hemodynamic management. In this study, we assess outcomes and complications of open versus endograft repair for BAI at a nonuniversity hospital. Retrospective chart review was conducted on 49 patients admitted to a Level I trauma center who incurred BAI from 2004 to 2011. Collected data points included demographics, mortality, complication rates, and intensive care unit and hospital length of stay (LOS). Twenty-one patients underwent open thoracotomy (OPEN), whereas 28 patients were managed with thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). The overall 30-day mortality rate was significantly lower comparing TEVAR to OPEN (7.1 vs 50%, P = 0.028); seven deaths occurred in the OPEN group versus two with TEVAR. Overall complications, including mortality, acute respiratory distress syndrome, renal failure, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, and cardiac arrest, were fewer after TEVAR (32.1 vs 81.0%, P < 0.001) despite similar injury severity. Survivor hospital LOS (26.0 ± 15.3 vs 27.7 ± 18.7 days, P = 0.79), intensive care unit LOS (13.5 ± 10.9 vs 12.7 ± 8.8 days, P = 0.94), and ventilator days (11.4 ± 13.4 vs 16.4 ± 14.5 days, P = 0.25) were similar. Early nonoperative management with TEVAR for BAIs is a feasible and effective management strategy. Improved patient outcomes over traditional open thoracotomy in the presence of similar injury severity can be seen after TEVAR in the nonuniversity hospital setting.

BACKGROUND: In the past decade, more than 300,000 people in the United States have died from firearm injuries. Our goal was to assess the effectiveness of two particular prevention strategies, restrictive licensing of firearms and concealed carry laws, on firearm-related injuries in the U.S. Restrictive licensing was defined to include denials of ownership for various offenses, such as performing background checks for domestic violence and felony convictions. Concealed carry laws allow licensed individuals to carry concealed weapons. METHODS: A comprehensive review of the literature was performed. We used GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) methodology to assess the breadth and quality of the data specific to our PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes) questions. RESULTS: A total of 4673 studies were initially identified, then seven more added after two subsequent, additional literature reviews. Of these, 3623 remained after removing duplicates; 225 case reports, case series, and reviews were excluded, and 3379 studies were removed because they did not focus on prevention or did not address our comparators of interest. This left a total of 14 studies which merited inclusion for PICO 1 and 13 studies which merited inclusion for PICO 2. CONCLUSION: PICO 1: We recommend the use of restrictive licensing to reduce firearm-related injuries.PICO 2: We recommend against the use of concealed carry laws to reduce firearm-related injuries.This committee found an association between more restrictive licensing and lower firearm injury rates. All 14 studies were population-based, longitudinal, used modeling to control for covariates, and 11 of the 14 were multi-state. Twelve of the studies reported reductions in firearm injuries, from 7-40%. We found no consistent effect of concealed carry laws. Of note, the varied quality of the available data demonstrates a significant information gap, and this committee recommends that we as a society foster a nurturing and encouraging environment that can strengthen future evidence based guidelines. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Systematic review, level III. Language: en

Circumstances may arise in the intensive care unit (ICU) when the physician is unable to obtain informed consent. We undertook this study to determine the variations in the consent process. An anonymous survey was distributed to all critical care nurses (RN), resident physicians (RES), advanced practitioners (AP), and attending physicians (ATT). Participants were asked to describe the risks of nine common ICU procedures (central venous line, peripherally inserted central catheter, bronchoscopy, tube thoracostomy, tracheostomy, vena cava filter, angioembolization, image-guided drainage, and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube). Participants were also asked which member of the healthcare team should obtain consent. All groups were compared with ATT responses and RN responses were compared with the remaining groups. The response rate was 134 of 610 participants (22%) with 51 per cent RN (n = 68), 17 per cent RES (n = 23), 7 per cent AP (n = 9), and 25 per cent ATT (n = 34). Compared with ATT, RN assessment of important risks varied significantly for eight of nine procedures. RES responses varied in three procedures. A minority believed that nurses should obtain consent. However, many physicians (34% ATT and 27% RES) denied having informed consent discussions with 50 per cent or more of their patients. This study has exposed a wide variation in consent practices. Future efforts to standardize consent processes are needed to protect patients and physicians.

Aggressive donor management protocols have evolved to maximize the number of procured organs. Our study assessed donor management time and the number and types of organs procured with the hypothesis that shorter management time yields increased organ procurement and transplant rates. We prospectively analyzed 100 donors managed by a regional organ procurement organization (OPO) during 2007 to 2008. Data included patient demographics, number and types of organs procured and transplanted, patient management time by the OPO, and achievement of donor pre-procurement goals. One hundred consecutive organ donors were managed with a mean age 41 ± 18 years and mean management time 23 ± 9 hours; 376 organs were procured and 327 successfully transplanted. Donors managed greater than 20 hours yielded significantly more heart (5 vs 26, P < 0.01) and lung (6 vs 40, P < 0.01) procurements, more organs procured per donor (3.2 ± 1.4 vs 4.2 ± 1.6, P < 0.01), and more organs transplanted per donor (2.6 ± 1.5 vs 3.7 ± 1.8, P < 0.01) than those managed 20 hours or less. No difference in the attainment of donor management goals was observed between these populations. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, donor management times greater than 20 hours yielded increased organ procurement and transplant rates, particularly for hearts and lungs, despite no differences in the achievement of donor preprocurement management goals.