Bouzat, Pierre; Ageron, François-Xavier; Brun, Julien; Levrat, Albrice; Berthet, Marion; Rancurel, Elisabeth; Thouret, Jean-Marc; Thony, Frederic; Arvieux, Catherine; Payen, Jean-François; +1 more... TRENAU group; (2015) A regional trauma system to optimize the pre-hospital triage of trauma patients. CRITICAL CARE, 19 (1). 111-. ISSN 1466-609X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-015-0835-7
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Pre-hospital triage is a key element in a trauma system that aims to admit patients to the most suitable trauma center, and may decrease intra-hospital mortality. We evaluated the performance of a pre-hospital procedure in a regional trauma system through measurements of the quality of pre-hospital medical assessment and the efficacy of a triage protocol. METHODS: Our regional trauma system included 13 hospitals categorized as Level I, II or III trauma centers according to their technical facilities. Each patient was graded A, B or C by an emergency physician, according to the seriousness of their injuries at presentation on scene. The triage was performed according to this grading and the categorization of centers. This study is a registry analysis of a three-year period (2009 to 2011). RESULTS: Of the 3,428 studied patients, 2,572 were graded using the pre-hospital grading system (Graded group). The pre-hospital gradation was closely related with injury severity score (ISS) and intra-hospital mortality rate. The triage protocol had a sensitivity of 92% (95% confidence interval (CI) 90% to 93%) and a specificity of 41% (95% CI 39% to 44%) to predict adequate admission of patients with ISS more than 15. A total of 856 patients were not graded at the scene (Non-graded group). Undertriage rate was significantly reduced in the Graded group compared with the Non-graded group, with a relative risk of 0.47 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.56) according to the definition of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (P <0.001). Where adjusted for trauma severity, the expected mortality rate at discharge from hospital was higher than observed mortality, with a difference of +2.0% (95% CI 1.4 to 2.6%; P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a regional trauma system with a pre-hospital triage procedure was effective in detecting severe trauma patients and in lowering the rate of pre-hospital undertriage. A beneficial effect on outcome of such an organization is suggested.
Item Type | Article |
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Faculty and Department | Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health > Dept of Population Health (2012- ) |
PubMed ID | 25887150 |
Elements ID | 123552 |
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