ABSTRACT
STUDY OBJECTIVE: The trauma services provided by 6 hospitals operating at 2 levels of care (4 secondary or district general hospitals and 2 tertiary care hospitals) in Malaysia are compared in terms of mortality and disability for direct admissions to emergency departments to test the hypothesis that care at a tertiary care hospital is better than at a district general hospital. METHODS: All cases were recruited prospectively for 1 year. The hospitals were purposefully selected as typical for Malaysia. There are 3 primary outcome measures: death, musculoskeletal impairment, and disability at discharge. Adjustment was made for potential covariates and within-hospital clustering by using multivariable random-effects logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: For direct admissions, logistic-regression-identified odds of dying were associated with older age (>55 years), odds ratio (OR) 1.9 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3 to 2.8); head injury, OR 2.7 (95% CI 1.9 to 3.9); arrival by means other than ambulance, OR 0.6 (95% CI 0.4 to 0.8); severe injuries (Injury Severity Score >15) at a district general hospital, OR 45.2 (95% CI 27.0 to 75.7); severe injuries at a tertiary care hospital, OR 11.2 (95% CI 7.3 to 17.3); and admission to a tertiary care hospital compared to a district general hospital if severely injured (Injury Severity Score >15), OR 0.2 (95% CI 0.1 to 0.4). Admission to a tertiary care hospital was associated with increased odds of disability (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.5 to 2.3) and musculoskeletal impairment (OR 3.5; 95% CI 2.7 to 4.4) at discharge. CONCLUSION: Care at a tertiary care hospital was associated with reduced mortality (by 83% in severe injuries), but with a higher likelihood of disability and impairment, which has implications for improving access to trauma services for the severely injured in Malaysia and other low- and middle-income settings.
Subject(s)
Hospitals, District/standards , Hospitals, General/standards , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Quality Assurance, Health Care , Trauma Centers/standards , Wounds and Injuries/mortality , Adult , Female , Health Services Accessibility , Hospital Mortality , Humans , Injury Severity Score , Logistic Models , Malaysia/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Treatment Outcome , Wounds and Injuries/therapyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of trauma services provided by three hospitals operating at different levels of care, district general (DGH), tertiary care, and central tertiary, were compared in Malaysia. METHODS: Cases were recruited prospectively for 1 month. Outcome measures included death or, among survivors, disability at discharge. RESULTS: Leading causes of injuries were road traffic (72%), falls (9%), industrial (6%), and assaults (5%). Fifty-nine percent of cases were direct admissions and 41% were interhospital transfers. Of the 286 direct admissions, 12% arrived by ambulance and the remainder mostly by private car. For direct admissions, logistic regression identified an increased odds of dying associated with admission to DGH (compared with central tertiary) (odds ratio [OR], 9.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-73.7), severe injuries (Injury Severity Score > 15) (OR, 33.1; 95% CI, 7.5-146.7), and older age (> or = 55 years) (OR, 10.8; 95% CI, 2.0-56.8). Disability at discharge was associated with being severely injured (OR, 6.4; 95% CI, 2.4-17.1). CONCLUSION: In this study in Malaysia, admission to DGH, older age, and severe injuries are associated with increased odds of fatality.
