Trauma - It is a party, but is everyone invited? A single center retrospective analysis of trauma patients at risk for early discharge after transfer.

BACKGROUND: Transferred trauma patients frequently are discharged after short stays without undergoing treatments. Strategies to decrease unnecessary transfers are needed. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients transferred to our level I center from 2019 to 2021. We identified patients discharged within 24 h without interventions and compared demographic, activation, injury, and mechanism of injury characteristics with patients requiring more care. A risk score was developed from these factors. RESULTS: Of 2424 patients transferred, 463(19%) were discharged within 24 h. In an integer score, age (1 pt), Injury Severity Score (<6 = 5 pts, 7-9 = 2 pts), recreational mechanism (3 pts), no hypertension (1 pt), no diabetes (2 pts), no dementia (3 pts), chest (1 pt), external (4 pts), face (5 pts) and Head/neck trauma (2 pts) were associated with early discharge. The score stratified risk of early discharge from 4.8% (score <7) to 67% (score >15). CONCLUSION: When prospectively validated the risk score may identify patients who can be managed without transfer.

Early administration of high dose enoxaparin after traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Early enoxaparin 30 mg BID administration at 24 h post-injury has been demonstrated in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). However this dose can also yield subtherapeutic anti-Xa levels in 30-50% of trauma patients, suggesting that larger doses may be required for adequate prophylaxis against venous thromboembolism (VTE). The safety of enoxaparin 40 mg BID in trauma patients has previously been shown - however, these studies have largely excluded TBI patients. Therefore, we sought to demonstrate the safety of early enoxaparin 40 mg BID in a low-risk group of TBI patients. METHODS: A retrospective review of TBI patients at a Level 1 trauma center was performed. Patients with stable computed tomography (CT) of the head at 6 to 24 h post-injury who received enoxaparin 40 mg BID were included and serial GCS evaluations to identify possible clinical complications. To evaluate the safety of this dosing regimen, data was then compared to patients from our institution with similar TBI profiles who had received 5,000 units (U) of subcutaneous heparin (SQH) prophylaxis. RESULTS: 199 TBI patients were identified over a nine month period, 40/199 (19.7%) received DVT prophylaxis after traumatic injury. Of these 40, 19 (47.5%) received enoxaparin 40 mg BID and 21 (52.5%) received 5,000U of SQH. Low risk TBI patients who were either given enoxaparin (n = 7) or SQH (n = 4), demonstrated no clinical decline in mental status during their inpatient stay. CONCLUSION: Prior studies have demonstrated that enoxaparin 40 mg BID dosing is superior to traditional VTE prophylaxis in trauma patients. However, TBI patients are often excluded from this dosing due to concern for progression. Our study showed no clinical decline in mental status in a small cohort of low-risk TBI patients who received enoxaparin 40 mg BID.

A 360° Rotational Positioning Protocol of Organ Donors May Increase Lungs Available for Transplantation.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the improvement in lung donation and immediate lung function after the implementation of a 360° rotational positioning protocol within an organ procurement organization in the Midwest. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. SETTING: The Midwest Transplant Network from 2005 to 2017. Rotational positioning of donors began in 2008. SUBJECTS: Potential deceased lung donors. INTERVENTIONS: A 360° rotational protocol. Presence of immediate lung function in recipients, change in PaO2:FIO2 ratio during donor management, initial and final PaO2:FIO2 ratio, and proportion of lungs donated were measured. Outcomes were compared between rotated and nonrotated donors. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 693 donors were analyzed. The proportion of lung donations increased by 10%. The difference between initial PaO2:FIO2 ratio and final PaO2:FIO2 ratio was significantly different between rotated and nonrotated donors (36 ± 116 vs 104 ± 148; p < 0.001). Lungs transplanted from rotated donors had better immediate function than those from nonrotated donors (99.5% vs 68%; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There was a statistically significant increase in lung donations after implementing rotational positioning of deceased donors. Rotational positioning significantly increased the average difference in PaO2:FIO2 ratios. There was also superior lung function in the rotated group. The authors recommend that organ procurement organizations consider adopting a rotational positioning protocol for donors to increase the lungs available for transplantation.