DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING AND IONIZING RADIATION EXPOSURE IN A LEVEL 1 TRAUMA CENTRE POPULATION MET WITH TRAUMA TEAM ACTIVATION: A ONE-YEAR PATIENT RECORD AUDIT.

This audit describes ionizing and non-ionizing diagnostic imaging at a regional trauma centre. All 144 patients (males 79.2%, median age 31 years) met with trauma team activation from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015 were included. We used data from electronic health records to identify all diagnostic imaging and report radiation exposure as dose area product (DAP) for conventional radiography (X-ray) and dose length product (DLP) and effective dose for CT. During hospitalization, 134 (93.1%) underwent X-ray, 122 (84.7%) CT, 92 (63.9%) focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST), 14 (9.7%) ultrasound (FAST excluded) and 32 (22.2%) magnetic resonance imaging. One hundred and sixteen (80.5%) underwent CT examinations during trauma admissions, and 73 of 144 (50.7%) standardized whole body CT (SWBCT). DAP values were below national reference levels. Median DLP and effective dose were 2396 mGycm and 20.42 mSv for all CT examinations, and 2461 mGycm (national diagnostic reference level 2400) and 22.29 mSv for a SWBCT.

Clinical guided computer tomography decisions are advocated in potentially severely injured trauma patients: a one-year audit in a level 1 trauma Centre with long pre-hospital times.

BACKGROUND: The International Commission on Radiological Protection's (ICRP) justification principles state that an examination is justified if the potential benefit outweighs the risk for radiation harm. Computer tomography (CT) contributes 50% of the radiation dose from medical imaging, and in trauma patients, the use of standardized whole body CT (SWBCT) increases. Guidelines are lacking, and reviews conclude conflictingly regarding the benefit. We aimed to study the degree of adherence to ICRP's level three justification, the individual dose limitation principle, in our institution. METHODS: This is a retrospective clinical audit. We included all 144 patients admitted with trauma team activation to our regional Level 1 trauma centre in 2015. Injuries were categorized according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) codes. Time variables, vital parameters and interventions were registered. We categorized patients into trauma admission SWBCT, selective CT or no CT examination strategy groups. We used descriptive statistics and regression analysis of predictors for CT examination strategy. RESULTS: The 144 patients (114 (79.2%) males) had a median age of 31 (range 0-91) years. 105 (72.9%) had at least one AIS ≥ 2 injury, 26 (18.1%) in more than two body regions. During trauma admission, at least one vital parameter was abnormal in 46 (32.4%) patients, and 73 (50.7%) underwent SWBCT, 43 (29.9%) selective CT and 28 (19.4%) no CT examination. No or only minor injuries were identified in 17 (23.3%) in the SWBCT group. Two (4.6%) in the selective group were examined with a complement CT, with no new injuries identified. A significantly (p < 0.001) lower proportion of children (61.5%) than adults (89.8%) underwent CT examination despite similar injury grades and use of interventions. In adjusted regression analysis, patients with a high-energy trauma mechanism had significantly (p = 0.028) increased odds (odds ratio = 4.390, 95% confidence interval 1.174-16.413) for undergoing a SWBCT. CONCLUSION: The high proportion of patients with no or only minor injuries detected in the SWBCT group and the significantly lower use of CT among children, indicate that use of a selective CT examination strategy in a higher proportion of our patients would have approximated the ICRP's justification level three, the individual dose limitation principle, better.

Injury coding in a national trauma registry: a one-year validation audit in a level 1 trauma centre.

BACKGROUND: Hospitals must improve patient safety and quality continuously. Clinical quality registries can drive such improvement. Trauma registries code injuries according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and benchmark outcomes based on the Injury Severity Score (ISS) and New ISS (NISS). The primary aim of this study was to validate the injury codes and severities registered in a national trauma registry. Secondarily, we aimed to examine causes for missing and discordant codes, to guide improvement of registry data quality. METHODS: We conducted an audit and established an expert coder group injury reference standard for patients met with trauma team activation in 2015 in a Level 1 trauma centre. Injuries were coded according to the AIS. The audit included review of all data in the electronic health records (EHR), and new interpretation of all images in the picture archiving system. Validated injury codes were compared with the codes registered in the registry. The expert coder group's interpretations of reasons for discrepancies were categorised and registered. Inter-rater agreement between registry data and the reference standard was tested with Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS: We validated injury data from 144 patients (male sex 79.2%) with median age 31 (inter quartile range 19-49) years. The total number of registered AIS codes was 582 in the registry and 766 in the reference standard. All injuries were concordantly coded in 62 (43.1%) patients. Most non-registered codes (n = 166 in 71 (49.3%) patients) were AIS 1, and information in the EHR overlooked by registrars was the dominating cause. Discordant coding of head injuries and extremity fractures were the most common causes for 157 discordant AIS codes in 74 (51.4%) patients. Median ISS (9) and NISS (12) for the total population did not differ between the registry and the reference standard. CONCLUSIONS: Concordance between the codes registered in the trauma registry and the reference standard was moderate, influencing individual patients' injury codes validity and ISS/NISS reliability. Nevertheless, aggregated median group ISS/NISS reliability was acceptable.

The treatment of spleen injuries: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Hemorrhage after blunt trauma is a major contributor to death after trauma. In the abdomen, an injured spleen is the most frequent cause of major bleeding. Splenectomy is historically the treatment of choice. In 2007, non-operative management (NOM) with splenic artery embolization (SAE) was introduced in our institution. The indication for SAE is hemodynamically stable patients with extravasation of contrast, or grade 3-5 spleen injury according to the Abbreviated Organ Injury Scale 2005, Update 2008. We wanted to examine if the introduction of SAE increased the rate of salvaged spleens in our trauma center. METHOD: All patients discharged with the diagnosis of splenic injury in the period 01.01.2000 - 31.12.2013 from the University Hospital of North Norway Tromsø were included in the study. Patients admitted for rehabilitation purposes or with an iatrogenic injury were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 109 patients were included in the study. In the period 2000-7, 20 of 52 patients were splenectomized. During 2007-13, there were 6 splenectomies and 24 SAE among 57 patients. The reduction in splenectomies is significant (p < 0.001). There is an increase in the rate of treated patients (splenectomy and SAE) from 38 to 53 % in the two time periods, but not significantly (p = 0.65). CONCLUSION: The rate of salvaged spleens has increased after the introduction of SAE in our center. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov with the identification number NCT01965548.

[Seriously injured patients transferred from local hospitals to a university hospital]. / Alvorlig skadede overført til universitetssykehus.

BACKGROUND: We studied diagnostics and stabilizing surgery in severely injured patients transferred from local hospitals to a university hospital. The purpose was to identify a potential for improvement of regional trauma care. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The material comprises all severely injured patients (Injury Severity [ISS] Score > 15) transferred from local hospitals to the University Hospital of Northern Norway in the period 01.01.2006 - 31.12.2007. Information about diagnostics, extent of injury and treatment during the first 24 hours after transferral was recorded by retrospective chart review. Emergency surgical interventions are defined according to plans for a national trauma system. RESULTS: 6/74 patients underwent emergency surgery at the local hospital (chest tube insertion, external fracture fixation); eight after arrival at the university hospital (chest tube insertion, hemostatic packing of the abdomen and pelvis, external fracture fixation). 66/74 were CT-scanned locally; 37 with a CT multitrauma series (CT caput, neck, thorax, abdomen and pelvis). Of the 62 who had head CT scans performed at a local hospital, the cervical spine was not imaged for 10. For eight of 55 patients who had CT scans of the thorax/abdomen/pelvis intravenous contrast agent was not administered. INTERPRETATION: Trauma care at local hospitals may be improved by more systematic imaging, a lower threshold for emergency surgery, and early communication with the university hospital.