Initial Prealbumin Level And Ability To Normalize Prealbumin Are Highly Predictive Of Increased Mortality And Morbidity In Elderly Trauma Patients

Prealbumin is a well characterized indicator of nutritional status more recently found to be an inverse inammatory marker. At our urban level 1 trauma center, we sought to study the relationship between malnutrition and outcomes in elderly trauma patients. Using prealbumin as a surrogate marker for nutritional status, we hypothesized that patients with reduced prealbumin on initial evaluation have worse outcomes, and in patients where initial prealbumin that was reduced, ability to correct is associated with improved outcomes. We performed a retrospective cohort study involving 200 consecutive patients over the age of 65 admitted to our trauma service. Based on initial prealbumin, patients were divided into 3 groups - below 5 mg/dL, 5-10 mg/dLand greater than 10 mg/dL. Prealbumin was then re-assessed 4 days after admission and patients were again divided into 2 groups based on ability to normalize prealbumin. Data obtained included age, gender, revised trauma score (RTS), injury severity score (ISS), days on a ventilator, ICU length of stay (ICU-LOS), hospital length of stay (HLOS), survival, initial prealbumin, and ability to correct prealbumin within 4 days after admission. Of the 200 patients enrolled, patients were divided into 3 groups using initial prealbumin - 71 patients below 5 mg/dL, 101 patients 5-10 mg/dL, and 28 patients greater than 10 mg/dL. There were 180 patients who were hospitalized for over a 4 day period. Normalization of prealbumin was achieved in 128 patients while 52 patients did not. Mean age was 79.2 years. RTS was found to be decreased in patients with initial prealbumin below 5 mg/dLin comparison to the other groups (11.3 vs. 11.8 vs. 11.8, p = 0.0002), with greater ISS (25.1 vs. 18.8 vs. 19.7, p < 0.0001), ICU LOS (days) (11.3 vs. 3.9 vs. 3.0, p < 0.0001), ventilator days (7.9 vs. 0.8 vs. 0.1, p < 0.0001), HLOS (days) (17.4 vs 7.8 vs. 7.1, p < 0.0001) and decreased survival (66% vs. 95% vs. 100%, p < 0.0001). Patients with prealbumin corrected within 4 days had lower ISS (19.9 vs. 29.2, p < 0.0001), as well as reduction in ventilator days (0.9 vs. 10.1, p < 0.0001), ICU LOS (days) (4.2 vs. 13.8, p < 0.0001), HLOS (days) (8.3 vs. 21.3, p < 0.0001) and improved survival (94% vs. 63%, p < 0.0001). Prealbumin is able to provide short term information regarding current nutritional status and response to therapy. Recent evidence suggest prealbumin may be a prognostic indicator for risk of malnutrition and inammation in critically ill trauma patients. In management of critically ill trauma patients, prealbumin can provide a valuable clinical indication of response to therapeutic intervention and potentially guide management strategy.

Factors Associated with the Severity of Injuries in Old Driver Trauma Patients

PURPOSE: As medicine has progressed, the human average lifetime has increased. Thus the number of geriatric patients has increased and, in particular, the number of older drivers has increased. Mortality rates for older trauma patients are higher than those for any other age group, but little research has been done about the severity of injuries to older patients involved in vehicle accidents. This study evaluated a number of factors and correlations involving old driver trauma patients. METHODS: We prospectively analyzed clinical information on 155 trauma patients over 65 years of age who were involved in vehicle accidents and visited the emergency department of Chosun University Hospital between Jan 2007 and Aug 2008. The following variables were examined for their ability to predict severity of injury: age, gender, vital signs, and mechanism of injury along with the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), and the Injury Severity Score(ISS). We divided the ISS scores into three groups: mild (1~8), moderate (9~15), and severe(above 16). RESULTS: Most cases involved men (94.2%), and a majority involved agriculture (65.8%). The most common vehicle was the motorcycle (48.4%), and 51 (32.9%) patients were drunk at the time of the accident. Many had acquired their driver's licenses more than 30 years earlier (40.7%), and almost all of the patients (81.9%) never wore any safety devices. The patients who had multiple underlying diseases, coupled living type, low blood pressure at admittance, and more time since they had acquired their licenses scored higher on mean ISS than the other cases. CONCLUSION: Old trauma patients had more longer admission days, had longer recovery times, and received more expensive treatment. For the same level of trauma, they took longer to heal than younger patients and experienced higher rates of mortality. Therefore, when the old driver trauma patients visit the emergency department, doctors need to perform more careful studies and provide a higher level of critical care. To lessen the number of old driver trauma patients, we should educate older drivers about safe driving methods and about the use of safety device, and we should enforce traffic laws and laws about drinking and driving.

The Prognostic Significance of Injury Severity Score and Height of Fall in Free Fall Patients

PURPOSE: In this study, the prognostic significance of the Injury Severity Score (ISS) and the height of fall in free-fall patients were investigated. METHODS: The medical records of 179 victims of falls from a height who were brought alive to the Emergency Department of Gyeongsang National University Hospital between January 2003 and December 2007 were analyzed. The age, the sex of the patients, the rate of admission, the hospital stay, the site of injury, the severity of injury, the rate of surgery, the site of the fall and the presence of alcohol intoxication were evaluated by using a retrospective review of the medical records. Injury severity was measured by using the ISS. Patients were categorized into four subgroups according to the height from where they had fallen. The data were statistically analyzed with using SPSS ver. 10.0. RESULTS: The admission rates for the subgroups with falls of less than 3 stories were significantly lower than those for the subgroups with higher heights of falls (70.7% vs. 100%, p<0.05). These two subgroups showed statistically significant differences in mean hospital stay (17.11+/-24.88 vs. 56.73+/-49.21, p<0.05), rate of operation (30.6% vs. 53.8%, p<0.05), and mean ISS (6.86+/-4.97 vs. 13.96+/-9.14, p<0.05). In the correlation analysis, the ISS and the mean hospital stay showed the highest correlation with correlation coefficient of 0.666. CONCLUSION: In this retrospective analysis of 179 free-fall patients, we evaluated the prognostic factors affecting the outcomes for the free-fall patients. The patients who had fallen from heights of 3 stories or higher showed statistically significant higher rates of admission, longer durations of hospital stay, higher ISSs, and higher operation rates. The most accurate factor in predicting the length of hospital stay was the ISS.

Analysis of Factors Influencing the Injury Severity of Free Fall Patients in an Emergency Department

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiology and risk factors associated with patients in a level I trauma center following fall injuries, and to define potential avenues for risk prevention. METHODS: The records of 186 patients admitted to the emergency department of Chosun University Hospital with a history of a fall from January 2004 to August 2006 were examined. Data were collected on each patient's age, sex, date of fall, the causea and height of fall, Galsgow Coma Scale (GCS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and previous history. Injuries were reviewed and Injury Severity Score (ISS) were calculated. RESULTS: Falls constituted 0.86% of total trauma patients. Among the 186 patients, 134 (72.0%) were male and 52(28.0%) were female, and the most common ages og fall patients were the thirties and forties, with a mean age of 41.73 years. The mean RTS was 11.15. Most falls were from a height of less than 6meters, with a mean height of 4.77 meters. One hundred sixty-four falls (88.2%) were accidental and 22 falls (11.8%) were from suicide attempts. The peak times for free falls were from 9 a.m. to 12 noon (n=44, 23.7%) and from 3 p.m to 6 p.m.(42, 22.6%). The most common fall injuries were cranial injuries (73, 39.2%), followed by spinal injuries (61, 32.8%)and extremity injuries (28, 15.1%). The median length of hospital stay was 25days (range 1-685days). The mortality rate was 9.14% (17 of 186). The average ISS was 12.06 (range 1-41), with a survivors' mean ISS of 11.37 and non-survivors' mean ISS of 17.92. CONCLUSION: The factors that significantly correlate with the Injury Severity for free fall patients are the height of fall, lower GCS or RTS score, intention of suicide, and hardness of impact surface (p<0.05). Patients most at risk can be more accurately identified in the emergency department through the development and implementation of educational programs.

Effect of Alcohol Ingestion on the Severity and Outcome in Trauma Patients

PURPOSE: Although alcohol is frequently present in injury patients, whether it exacerbates injury and whether tolerance to alcohol changes such a relationship is less clear. We investigated alcohol's role in injury and the effect of alcohol on the severity of injury. METHODS: This prospective study was performed from July 20, 2004, to October 20, 2004, at five university hospital emergency departments (ED). We studied trauma patients, excluding pediatric patients (15 year old and under), alcohol consumption over the 6 hours prior to visiting the ED and continuous drinking after injury. Patients were screened by blood tests for the presence of alcohol and were classified into two groups by alcohol consumption. The injury severity was measured by using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and the Injury Severity Score (ISS). RESULTS: The study enrolled 361 injured patients, of whom 105 were intoxicated and 256 were not intoxicated. Alcohol consumption was significantly larger in males than in females and in cases involving violence. The injury severities were not correlated with alcohol consumption significantly between intoxicated patients and not intoxicated patients. were not significantly different. However, the number of days in the intensive care unit and the mortality correlated with alcohol consumption. In patients with severe injuries (ISS> or =15, AIS> or =3), alcohol consumption was correlated with severity of the injury. CONCLUSION: Alcohol intoxication is not associated with injury severity. But in patients with severe injuries (ISS> or =15, head AIS> or =3), alcohol consumption was correlated with injury severity.

Traumatic Diaphragmatic Ruputure: 4-Year Clinical Experience

PURPOSE: A traumatic diaphragmatic rupture (TDR) is a diagnostic challenge and the associated injuries determine the outcome in those diagnosed early. A TDR has long been considered to be a marker of the severity of injury with an average reported Injury Severity Score (ISS) between 31 and 50. This report reviewed the TDR cases in order to emphasize the method and timing of the diagnosis, associated injuries and the outcome. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 30 patient treated for TDR between August 1998 and september 2002. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 33.4 years and the injury predomiantly affected males (male: female=2: 1). Blunt trauma by TA was the most common cause of the TDR (25 patients). The ruptured sites were on the left in 22 cases and on the right in 8 cases. The most common symptom was chest pain (23 cases) followed dyspnea (21 cases). Liver injuries and a pneumo-hemothorax were the most common associated injuries. The mean CRAMS scale was 6.47 and Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 18.93. Eighteen TDR cases were suspected based on the abnormal chest X-ray findings. Nineteen cases underwent surgery within 6 hours after the trauma (early diagnosis). Although many complications occurred in 11 cases, there were no lethal complications. The mean size of the diaphragmatic rupture was 9.77 cm and an intraabdominal organ herniation had not occurred in ruptures smaller than 6 cm. Surgical repair of the diaphragm was performed via a laparotomy in 20 cases and thoracotomy in 7 cases. A left side TDR was preferred to a laparotomy whereas a right sided TDR was preferred to a thoracotomy. Pulmonary complications (atelectasis, pneumonia, pleural effusion) occurred in 14 cases postoperatively. CONCLUSION: The patient's complaints and physical findings were not a reliable indicator of the diagnosis, but usually a manifestation of the associated injuries. A suspicion and routine chest X-ray was the most reliable diagnostic tool, even though the chest X-ray was normal in 12 cases. A high rate of early diagnosis can be achieved using an aggresive investigation protocol, suspicion and a combined radiologic evaluation in multiple trauma patients. Although pulmonary complications occurred in the early diagnosed cases, lethal complications and long term sequela were directly related to the time of diagnosis. The higher ISS had many complications (11 cases) but there were no lethal complications, long term sequela.