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Malnutrition is shown to be associated with worse outcomes among surgical patients, yet its postdischarge outcomes in trauma patients are not clear. This study aimed to evaluate both index admission and postdischarge outcomes of geriatric trauma patients who are at risk of poor nutritional status. This is a secondary analysis of the prospective observational American Association of Surgery for Trauma Frailty Multi-institutional Trial. Geriatric (≥65 years) patients presenting to 1 of the 17 Level I/II/III trauma centers (2019–2021) were included and stratified using the simplified Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (albumin [g/dL] + body mass index [kg/m2]/10) into severe (simplified Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index <5), moderate (5.5> simplified Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index ≥5), mild level of nutritional risk (6> simplified Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index ≥5.5), and good nutritional status (simplified Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index ≥6) and compared. Of the 1,321 patients enrolled, 22% were at risk of poor nutritional status (mild: 13%, moderate: 7%, severe: 3%). The mean age was 77 ± 8 years, and the median [interquartile range] Injury Severity Score was 9 [5–13]. Patients at risk of poor nutritional status had greater rates of sepsis, pneumonia, discharge to the skilled nursing facility and rehabilitation center, index-admission mortality, and 3-month mortality (P <.05). On multivariable analyses, being at risk of severe level of nutritional risk was independently associated with sepsis (adjusted odds ratio 6.21, 95% confidence interval 1.68–22.90, P =.006), pneumonia (adjusted odds ratio 4.40, 95% confidence interval 1.21–16.1, P =.025), index-admission mortality (adjusted odds ratio 3.16, 95% confidence interval 1.03–9.68, P =.044), and 3-month mortality (adjusted odds ratio 8.89, 95% confidence interval 2.01–39.43, P =.004) compared with good nutrition state. Nearly one quarter of geriatric trauma patients were at risk of poor nutritional status, which was identified as an independent predictor of worse index admission and 3-month postdischarge outcomes. These findings underscore the need for nutritional screening at admission. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Optimal utilization of vasopressors during early post-injury resuscitation remains unclear. Our study aims to describe the relationship between the timing of vasopressor administration and outcomes among hypotensive trauma patients. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of the 2017-2018 ACS-TQIP database. We included adult (≥18 years) trauma patients presenting with hypotension (lowest SBP <90 mmHg) who received vasopressors within 6 hours of admission. We excluded patients who had a severe head injury (Head-AIS >3) and those with spinal cord injury (Spine-AIS >3). Patients were stratified based on the time to receive vasopressors. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to identify the independent association between timing of vasopressor initiation and outcomes. Results: 1049 patients were identified. Mean age was 55 ± 20 years, and 70% of patients were male. The median ISS was 16 [9-24], 80% had a blunt injury, and the mean SBP was 61 ± 24 mmHg. The median time to first vasopressor administration was 319 [68-352] minutes. Overall, 24-hour and in-hospital mortality rates were 19% and 33%, respectively. Every one-hour delay in vasopressor administration beyond the first hour was independently associated with decreased odds of 24-hour mortality (aOR: 0.65, P < 0.001), in-hospital mortality (aOR: 0.65, P < 0.001), major complications (aOR: 0.77, P = 0.003), and increased odds of longer ICU LOS (β + 2.53, P = 0.012). There were no associations between the timing of early vasopressor administration and 24-hour PRBC transfusion requirements (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Earlier vasopressor requirement among hypotensive trauma patients was independently associated with increased mortality and major complications. Further research on the utility and optimal timing of vasopressors during the post-injury resuscitative period is warranted. Level of Evidence: III therapeutic/care management [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Multiple studies have indicated that isolated abnormal laboratory results necessitate obtaining abdominal computed tomography (CT) for pediatric patients with blunt abdominal trauma (BAT), regardless of the normal abdominal examination. This study aims to identify the predictors of intra-abdominal injury (IAI) and the role of laboratory tests in CT imaging among pediatric BAT patients., Methods: This is a retrospective review at a Level II pediatric trauma center (2018-2022). Children (younger than 18 years) who presented with BAT and received abdominal CT imaging were included. Outcomes were rates of IAI and interventions. Multivariable regression analysis was performed., Results: Over 5 years, 483 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 13 years, 58.2% were male, and the median Glasgow Coma Scale was 15. Overall, 19.3% had abdominal pain; 6.2%, postinjury emesis; 26.1%, abdominal tenderness; and 10.6%, pelvic tenderness. On initial imaging, 7.0% had a positive focused assessment with sonography in trauma examination, and 7.2% had an abnormal plain x-ray. On initial laboratory testing, 7.9% had abnormal serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), 3.1% had abnormal hematocrit, 1.2% had abnormal urine analysis, and 0.8% had abnormal lipase. Seventeen percent had at least one IAI, of which 17% underwent intervention. Multivariable regression analysis identified abdominal tenderness, abnormal plain x-ray, positive focused assessment with sonography in trauma, blood transfusion requirements, and abnormal AST as independent predictors of IAI on abdominal CT imaging. Moreover, among patients with IAI, only 37.3% had abnormal laboratory results, and all had at least one of the predictors of IAI (in addition to or other than abnormal AST). Among patients with abnormal laboratory results (n = 57), nine patients had none of the predictors of IAI, out of which none were found to have IAI on abdominal CT., Conclusion: More than 80% of all abdominal CT imaging had negative results. Our findings highlight the significance of clinical findings in the trauma bay, regardless of laboratory findings, when deciding to order abdominal CT imaging for pediatric BAT patients., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic/Care Management; Level III., (Copyright © 2025 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Failure to rescue (FTR) is an indicator of the quality of care provided by trauma centers. The aim of this study was to examine the trends of FTR incidence in geriatric trauma patients over the years and to determine whether race, ethnicity, and sex impact the FTR incidence., Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program database over 4 years (2017-2020). All geriatric (≥60 years) trauma patients were included. Patients who died within 24 hours of admission or whose length of stay was ≤1 day were excluded. Trend analysis was performed. Patients were stratified based on race, ethnicity, and sex, and multivariable regression analyses were performed., Results: Over the course of 4 years, 1,105,651 geriatric patients were identified, of whom 30,984 (2.8%) developed major complications and 10,684 (34.5% of those with complications) had FTR. The mean (SD) age was 75 (9) years, 46% were male, 86% were White, and 6% were Hispanic. The median (interquartile range) Injury Severity Score was 9 (4-10) with no change over the years (p = 0.364) and 96.8% sustained a blunt injury. Over the 4 years, the rate of FTR increased from 0.55% in 2017 to 1.04% in 2020 (p < 0.001). An analysis of trends in FTR patients revealed no significant difference in the proportion of males and females over the years (p = 0.482). However, there was a notable increase in the proportion of Black and Hispanic patients in comparison with White (p < 0.001) and non-Hispanic patients (p = 0.023), respectively. The odds of developing FTR have been increasing over the years, with Black race and Hispanic ethnicity identified as the independent risk factors for FTR., Conclusion: The risk-adjusted odds of developing FTR have been increasing over the years, with one in every three patients who developed complications not surviving to discharge. Our findings demonstrate that racial and ethnic factors significantly impact the incidence of FTR., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic/Care Management; Level III., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Gallstone ileus is an infrequent complication of cholelithiasis with no specific guidelines for its management. This study aims to compare the outcomes of patients with gallstone ileus managed with both enterolithotomy with cholecystectomy (EL-CCY) versus those managed with enterolithotomy (EL) only., Methods: In this retrospective analysis of 2011-2017 Nationwide Readmissions Database, all patients with an index admission diagnosis of gallstone ileus were included. Patients were stratified based on the type of intervention received for gallstone ileus into those who underwent EL-CCY and those who underwent EL alone and compared. Primary outcomes were in-hospital complications (surgical site infections, sepsis, pneumonia, cardiac arrest, deep vein thrombosis, intestinal obstruction) and mortality. Secondary outcomes were hospital length of stay, hospital costs, and readmissions rate and cause of readmissions. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed., Results: A total of 1,960 patients were identified. The mean age was 67 years and 67% were female. Two hundred eighty-nine patients (14.7%) were managed with EL-CCY, whereas 1,671 patients (85.3%) underwent EL only. Overall, the readmission rate was 4.8%, whereas mortality was 4.2%. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of index-admission complications (24.8% vs. 21.7%, p = 0.415), mortality (6.2% vs. 3.9%, p = 0.068), rates of readmission (3.5% vs. 5.1%, p = 0.22), and cause of readmission (p > 0.05). Enterolithotomy and cholecystectomy group had significantly longer hospital length of stay (10 vs. 8 days, p < 0.001) and median hospital costs ($70,959 vs. $52,147, p < 0.001). On multivariable logistic regression analysis, female sex was a predictor of undergoing EL-CCY, whereas increasing age and higher grade of all-patient redefined diagnosis-related groups risk of mortality were independently associated with lower odds of undergoing EL-CCY., Conclusion: Our findings suggest no difference between EL compared with EL-CCY in terms of complications, readmissions, and mortality. However, patients managed with EL-CCY had a longer hospital stay and higher hospital costs compared with EL. Further prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and develop management protocols for gallstone ileus., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic/Care Management; Level III., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)