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Citation
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Farhat A, Grigorian A, Farhat A, Chin TL, Donnelly M, Dolich M, Kuza CM, Lekawa M, Nahmias J. Am. Surg. 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub. |
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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: While the benefit of admission to trauma centers compared to non-trauma centers is well-documented and differences in outcomes between Level-I and Level-II trauma centers are well-studied, data on the differences in outcomes between Level-II trauma centers (L2TCs) and Level-III trauma centers (L3TCs) are scarce.
OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare mortality risk between patients admitted to L2TCs and L3TCs, hypothesizing no difference in mortality risk for patients treated at L3TCs compared to L2TCs.
METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the 2016 Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) database was performed. Patients aged 18+ years were divided into 2 groups, those treated at American College of Surgeons (ACS) verified L2TCs and L3TCs.
RESULTS: From 74,486 patients included in this study, 74,187 (99.6%) were treated at L2TCs and 299 (.4%) at L3TCs. Both groups had similar median injury severity scores (ISSs) (10 vs 10, P <.001); however, L2TCs had a higher mean ISS (14.6 vs 11.9). There was a higher mortality rate for L2TC patients (6.0% vs 1.7%, P =.002) but no difference in associated risk of mortality between the 2 groups (OR.46, CI.14-1.50, P =.199) after adjusting predictors of mortality. L2TC patients had a longer median length of stay (5.0 vs 3.5 days, P <.001). There was no difference in other outcomes including myocardial infarction (MI) and cerebrovascular accident (CVA) (P >.05).
DISCUSSION: Patients treated at L2TCs had a longer LOS compared to L3TCs. However, after controlling for covariates, there was no difference in associated mortality risk between L2TC and L3TC patients.
Language: en |