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Patients with Non-English Language Preferences (NELP) experience challenges navigating the US healthcare system which can lead to disparate outcomes. This study sought to investigate injury patterns and outcomes in hospitalized trauma patients with NELP.A retrospective review was performed at a trauma center from January 2019-December 2020. An institutional database of all emergency department video consultations for interpreter services was cross-referenced with the trauma registry and comparisons were made between NELP and English-preferred (EP) speaking patients.During the study, 257 NELP patients were hospitalized after traumatic injury. Twenty-two percent had work related injuries compared to only 3.0% in the EP cohort (p 0.001). When propensity score matched, there were no significant differences in ICU and hospital length of stay or mortality between NELP and EP patients.Trauma patients are linguistically diverse and understanding their injury patterns and outcomes is crucial for guiding culturally and linguistically appropriate injury prevention.

Background Neurostimulants (NS) can be used to treat patients with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) with altered levels of consciousness. We sought to determine if amantadine alone (monotherapy) versus amantadine + methylphenidate (dual therapy) would correlate with better neurorecovery (NR) among acutely hospitalized patients with a severe TBI. Methods We performed a retrospective review of adult patients admitted to our level I trauma center from 2016-2019 with a severe TBI. NR was calculated by dividing the difference between admission and discharge Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores by 12. Resulting ratios were used to divide the cohort into two groups: excellent NR (1) and non–excellent NR ( Results A total of 76 patients comprised the cohort; 19.7% (n = 15) had excellent NR. The excellent NR group had a larger proportion of patients receiving dual therapy compared to the non–excellent group (86.7% versus 59%, P = 0.04). In monotherapy (n = 27), amantadine was initiated 13 (8-20) d following injury and treatment lasted 7 (2-16) d. In dual therapy (n = 49), amantadine was initiated 12 (6-19) d following injury and continued for 9 (4-25.5) d. Methylphenidate was initiated 15 (7-20.5) d following injury and continued for 5 (2-13.5) d. After adjusting for confounders, dual versus monotherapy predicted excellent NR (OR 5.4, 95% CI 1.2 - 38.9, P = 0.03). Conclusions During the acute hospitalization for a severe TBI, dual NS therapy compared to monotherapy is associated with an increased likelihood of excellent NR. Larger prospective trials are warranted to validate these findings.

The 5-factor modified frailty index (mFI-5) and the 11-factor modified frailty index (mFI-11) are equally effective in predicting adverse outcomes in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. The similarly structured American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) database has not been studied with these two frailty indices. We hypothesized that the mFI-5 and mFI-11 could similarly predict adverse outcomes with TQIP data.The mFI-5 and mFI-11 were calculated for each patient comprising our institutional TQIP registry (2016-2018). Spearman ρ was calculated to assess correlations between the two indices across multiple predefined TQIP patient cohorts. Complications were stratified by frailty score for each index. Multivariable logistic regression models adjusting for age, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and Injury Severity Score were created to assess each mFI's association with any complication and discharge dispositions (home, facility, and expired).There were 8467 patients. Spearman ρ was0.9 (P 0.0001) for all patient cohorts except elderly, elderly blunt multisystem, and isolated hip fractures. Increasing frailty scores for both mFIs were associated with greater rates of acute kidney injury (P 0.0001), myocardial infarction (P 0.001), severe sepsis (P 0.05), unplanned return to the intensive care unit (P 0.0001), and unplanned intubation (P 0.0001). On separate multivariable logistic regressions, the mFI-5 and mFI-11 were each predictive of any complication (P 0.0001) and a facility discharge (P 0.001). Neither the mFI-5 nor the mFI-11 were associated with mortality (P 0.05).The mFI-5 and mFI-11 are highly correlated across several TQIP patient cohorts. They also are both predictive of complications and discharge dispositions; however, neither index can predict mortality. Given its ease of use, the mFI-5 may be a better option for identifying frail patients and predicting adverse outcomes at the point of care in trauma.

The 5-item modified frailty index (mFI-5) has been shown to predict adverse outcomes in surgery; yet, its role in trauma patients is unclear. We hypothesized that increasing frailty, as indicated by increasing mFI-5 scores, would correlate with worse outcomes and greater mortality in trauma patients.We performed a retrospective review of patients captured by our 2018 Spring and Fall Trauma Quality Improvement Program registry. The mFI-5 was calculated by assigning one point for each comorbidity present: diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and functionally dependent health status. Outcomes included complications, length of stay, mortality, and discharge location.A total of 3364 patients were included; 68.0% (n = 2288) were not frail, 16.5% (n = 555) were moderately frail, and 15.5% (n = 521) were severely frail. Higher frailty scores were associated with greater rates of unplanned intubations (P 0.01) and unplanned admissions to the intensive care unit (P 0.01). Rates of nonhome discharge (P 0.0001) were significantly higher in the severe frailty group compared with the moderate and no frailty groups. On multivariable regression adjusting for demographics and injury details, severe frailty was predictive of any complication (odds ratio [OR], 1.53; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.12-2.11; P 0.01), failure to rescue (OR, 2.88; 95% CI, 1.47-5.66; P = 0.002), nonhome discharge (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.47-2.40; P 0.0001), and mortality (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.07-3.15; P = 0.03).Frailty is not only associated with longer hospitalizations but also with more complications, adverse discharge locations, and increased odds of mortality. The mFI-5 is a quick and intuitive tool that can be used to determine an individual's frailty at the time of admission.

Background We sought to prospectively identify risk factors for biliary complications and 30-day readmission after cholecystectomy for choledocholithiasis and gallstone pancreatitis across multiple US hospitals. Methods We performed a prospective, observational study of patients who underwent same admission cholecystectomy for choledocholithiasis and gallstone pancreatitis between 2016 and 2019 at 12 US centers. Patients with prior history of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or diagnosis of cholangitis were excluded. We used logistic regression to determine associations between preoperative demographics, labs, and imaging on primary outcomes: postoperative biliary complications and 30-day readmission. Results There were 989 patients in the cohort. There were 16 (1.6%) patients with postoperative biliary complications, including intra-abdominal abscesses, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography-induced pancreatitis, and biliary leaks. Increasing operative time (odds ratio 1.01, 95% confidence interval 1.00–1.01, P = .02), worsening leukocytosis (odds ratio 1.16, 95% confidence interval 1.07–1.25, P = .0002), and jaundice (odds ratio 3.25, 95% confidence interval 1.01–10.42, P = .04) were associated with postoperative biliary complications. There were 36 (3.6%) patients readmitted within 30 days owing to a surgical complication. A prior postoperative biliary complication (odds ratio 7.8, 95% confidence interval 1.63–37.27, P = .01), male sex (odds ratio 2.42, 95% confidence interval 1.2–4.87, P = .01), and index operative duration (odds ratio 1.01, 95% confidence interval 1.00–1.01, P = .03) were associated with 30-day readmission. Conclusion Among patients undergoing cholecystectomy for common bile duct stones, jaundice, worsening leukocytosis, and longer operations are associated with postoperative biliary complications. A prior biliary complication is also predictive of a 30-day readmission. Surgeons should recognize these factors and avoid prematurely discharging at-risk patients given their propensity to develop complications and require readmission.

The purpose of this study was to investigate our institution's experience with pediatric firearm events. We sought to determine the relationship between a community's level of socioeconomic distress and the incidence of youth gun violence.We performed a retrospective review of children18 years involved in firearm events. Using visual cluster analysis, we portrayed all firearm events and violent firearm events (assaults + homicides). Distressed community indices (DCIs) were obtained from an interface that uses US Census Bureau data. Incident rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated for firearm circumstances (i.e. assault, homicide, suicide) using a DCI. Significant IRRs were analyzed to discern which DCI metrics contributed most to gun violence.There were 114 children involved in firearm events; 66 were county residents. The DCI of injury location significantly predicted total firearm events (IRR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03), assaults (IRR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.05), and violent firearm events (IRR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05). The proportion of adults without a high school diploma, poverty rate, median income ratio, and housing vacancy rate were highly predictive of gun violence (VIP1).Community distress significantly predicts pediatric firearm violence. Local interventions should target neighborhoods with high levels of distress to prevent further youth gun violence.Retrospective study, IV.