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Prehospital hypotension has been utilized for decades as a surrogate marker of injury severity. Several studies have discussed the correlation between injury and hypotension both in the field as well as in the emergency department. Increases have been noted in injury severity score and mortality. Resource utilization is higher in this patient population. This study revisits our original work from 2000 and reviews the current literature regarding hypotension and injury severity. We also examine the role of prehospital hypotension as an indicator of trauma team activation and resource allocation. This review serves as a part of a Literary Festschrift in honor of Dr J David Richardson's role as the Editor-in-Chief of The American Surgeon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric liver and spleen injuries are frequently treated in specialized hospitals. Not all injured children, however, are treated in referral centers. We evaluated the management of pediatric liver and spleen injuries in a rural state without a state trauma system to determine if differences existed between trauma centers and nontrauma centers. A state database was queried for patients ≤15-years-old who suffered liver and spleen injuries from 2003 to 2005. Iatrogenic injuries were excluded. There were 115 pediatric liver and 183 pediatric spleen injuries. Fifty per cent of liver and 63 per cent of spleen injuries in nontrauma centers were isolated solid organ injuries compared with 18 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively, in trauma centers. The mortality rate for both liver and spleen injuries was similar in trauma and nontrauma centers. Hospital charges were higher in trauma centers but this was due to patients with associated injuries. The nonoperative management rate was similar for liver injuries. Pediatric patients with splenic injuries had a lower rate of nonoperative management in nontrauma centers (75% to 90%, nontrauma vs trauma), in Kentucky, pediatric solid organ injuries are usually managed nonoperatively in both trauma and nontrauma centers, but trauma centers cared for fewer isolated solid organ injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite low mortality rates, self-inflicted stab wounds (SISWs) can result in significant morbidity and often reflect underlying substance abuse and mental health disorders. This study aimed to characterize demographics, comorbidities, and outcomes seen in self-inflicted stabbings and compare these metrics to those seen in assault stabbings. A Level I trauma center registry was queried for patients with stab injuries between January 2010 and December 2015. Classification was based on whether injuries were SISWs or the result of assault stab wounds (ASWs). Demographic, injury, and outcome measures were recorded. Differences between genders, ethnicities, individuals with and without psychiatric comorbidities, and SISW and ASW patients were assessed. Within the SIWS cohort, no differences were found when comparing age, gender, or race, including need for operative intervention. However, patients with psychiatric histories were less likely to have a positive toxicology test on arrival than those without psychiatric histories (22% vs. 0%, P = 0.04). When compared with 460 ASW patients, SISW were older (41 vs. 35, P < 0.001), more likely to be white (92% vs. 64%, P < 0.001), more likely to have a psychiatric history (15% vs. 4%, P < 0.001), require operative intervention (65% vs. 50%, P = 0.008), and be discharged to a psychiatric facility (47% vs. 0.2%, P < 0.001). SISW patients have higher rates of psychiatric illness and an increased likelihood to require operative intervention as compared with ASW patients. This population demonstrates an acute need for both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care with early involvement of multidisciplinary teams for treatment and discharge planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, no studies have examined the relationship between geographic and socioeconomic factors and the frequency of pedestrians sustaining traumatic injuries from a motor vehicle. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of location on the frequency of pedestrian injury by motor vehicle. The University of Louisville Trauma Registry was queried for patients who had been struck by a motor vehicle from 2010 to 2015. Demographic and injury information as well as outcome measures were evaluated to identify those impacting risk of pedestrian versus motor vehicle accidents. Number of incidents was correlated with lower median household income. There was also a moderate correlation between the number of incidents and population density. Multivariable analysis demonstrated a significant association between increased median household income and distance from downtown Louisville and decreased risk of death following pedestrian versus motor vehicle accident. Incidence of pedestrian injury by motor vehicles is influenced by regional socioeconomic status. Efforts to decrease the frequency of these events should include further investigation into the mechanisms underpinning this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recidivism is a key outcome measure for injury prevention programs. Firearm injury recidivism rates are difficult to determine because of poor longitudinal follow-up and incomplete, disparate databases. Reported recidivism rates from trauma registries are 2% to 3%. We created a collaborative database merging law enforcement, emergency department, and inpatient trauma registry data to more accurately determine rates of recidivism in patients presenting to our trauma center following firearm injury., Methods: A collaborative database for Jefferson County, Kentucky, was constructed to include violent firearm injuries encountered by the trauma center or law enforcement from 2008 to 2019. Iterative deterministic data linkage was used to create the database and eliminate redundancies. From patients with at least one hospital encounter, raw recidivism rates were calculated by dividing the number of patients injured at least twice by the total number of patients. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate risk factors for recidivism. The cumulative incidence of recidivism over time was estimated using a Kaplan-Meier survival model., Results: There were 2, 363 assault-type firearm injuries with at least 1 hospital encounter, approximately 9% of which did not survive their initial encounter. The collaborative database demonstrated raw recidivism rates for assault-type firearm injuries of 9.5% compared with 2.5% from the trauma registry alone. Risk factors were young age, male sex, and African American race. The predicted incidence of recidivism was 3.6%, 5.6%, 11.4%, and 15.8% at 1, 2, 5, and 10 years, respectively., Conclusion: Both hospital and law enforcement data are critical for determining reinjury rates in patients treated at trauma centers. Recidivism rates following violent firearm injury are four times higher using a collaborative database compared with the inpatient trauma registry alone. Predicted incidence of recidivism at 10 years was at least 16% for all patients, with high-risk subgroups experiencing rates as high as 26%., Level of Evidence: Epidemiological, level III.

Our department has a database of thoracic gunshot wounds (GSWs), which has cataloged these injury patterns over the past five decades. Prevailing wisdom on the management of these injuries suggested operative treatment beyond tube thoracostomy is not commonly required. It was our clinical impression that the operative treatment required beyond chest tube placement has greatly increased over the past several decades, whereas the operative management of cardiac GSWs seemed to be increasingly infrequent events. To test these observations, we analyzed the treatment of GSWs to the chest and heart in four distinct time periods, categorized as "historical" (1973-1975 and 1988-1990) and "modern" (2005-2007 and 2015-2017). There was a significant increase in emergent thoracotomy, delayed thoracic operations, overall operative interventions, and pulmonary resections from the historical period to the modern era. There was a decline in cardiac injuries treated, whereas the number of injuries remained constant. Mortality was unchanged between the early and later periods. Operative treatment beyond tube thoracostomy was much more prevalent for noncardiac thoracic GSWs in the past two decades than in the prior decades, whereas the number of cardiac wounds treated decreased by half.

Flail chest represents a severe injury with mortality historically reported at up to 30 per cent. Although management has changed dramatically over the past several decades, there is a paucity of large recent series. With Institutional Review Board approval, a retrospective review of all patients with flail chest admitted from January 2001 through May 2010 was undertaken. Patient demographics, outcomes, and cause of death were specifically analyzed with univariate and multivariate analysis. There were 164 patients at a median age of 51.4 years. Head injury and pulmonary contusion were present in 67 (40.8%) and 125 (77%), respectively. Pneumonia developed in 72 (43.9%). There were 41 deaths (25%), for which flail chest contributed to 15 (9.1%). Of the patients with flail chest-related death, the majority (n = 10 [66.7%]) died within 48 hours of presentation. There were only five deaths (3.0%) related to flail chest after 48 hours. Multivariate analysis of ventilator dependency revealed requirement for laparotomy (P = 0.019) or tracheostomy (P < 0.0001) and pneumonia (P = 0.0002) as significant. Pneumonia was the most significant independent predictor of overall (P < 0.0001) and intensive care unit length of stay (P < 0.0001). The mortality associated with flail chest has greatly improved; however, the rate of pneumonia remains high. Further efforts at pneumonia prevention are thus warranted.

Background: Clostridium difficile colitis is a nosocomial infection that can present as minor, readily treated symptoms or as fulminant colitis leading to death. Risk factors for C. difficile colitis have been defined, and certain populations of hospitalized patients appear to be particularly susceptible. However, most information on C. difficile colitis is from large tertiary-care medical centers. Whether the community hospital experience is similar to that of large referral centers is unknown., Methods: We abstracted all cases of C. difficile colitis (ICD-9-CM 008.45) for 2003-2005 from a state database and divided the hospitals into academic and nonacademic centers. Cases were stratified according to whether the colitis was listed as the primary presenting diagnosis or a secondary diagnosis. Demographic information, associated diagnoses, length of stay, and deaths were analyzed., Results: The incidence of C. difficile colitis increased from 2003 to 2005, and the majority of cases occurred at nonacademic centers. Patients in nonacademic centers more frequently had C. difficile colitis as the primary diagnosis, had a shorter length of stay, were older, and were more frequently women. The mortality rate was higher for secondary (8.5%) than for primary (2.6%; p < 0.05) C. difficile colitis, but there was no difference between academic and nonacademic centers., Conclusions: The incidence of C. difficile colitis is increasing in this statewide database. Compared with academic medical centers, nonacademic centers deal with a higher rate of primary C. difficile colitis that is associated with a lower mortality rate and shorter stay than secondary colitis.

Background: The observed to expected (O:E) mortality based on Injury Severity Scores (ISS) has been used to assess quality of trauma center (TC) care. Injuries in the elderly have increased, and these patients often have advanced directives, on occasion limiting aggressive care even for potentially survivable injuries; unfortunately, there are few data on the impact of these demographic changes on mortality. Additionally, many patients arrive moribund and care provided is likely to be futile. We sought to examine the impact of these situations on TC mortality., Methods: All trauma deaths for 2008-2009 were assessed for ISS, preventability of mortality, potential for survivability, impact of withdrawal of care (WOC), and timing of deaths., Results: There were 5433 patients with 347 deaths (6.4%). Deaths occurred more frequently in men (70%) who were older (56.3 years) and had head injuries (70%, Glasgow Coma Scale score of 6.9). The average ISS was high (25.5), but 19% of deaths occurred in minimally injured (ISS < 15). One fifth of all patients who died arrived in or rapidly progressed to cardiac arrest with little to no chance to impact survival. Of the nonsurvivors, 147 (42% of deaths) had WOC at a mean of 1.5 days based on advanced directives (18%) or family desires. Combing WOC and futile care, medical treatment could not have been expected to impact survival in 62% of deaths., Conclusion: There has been a major shift in the demographics of the injured with a high proportion of elderly and head injured and/or those who have little likelihood of survival. Crude mortality or O:E based on ISS overestimates preventable deaths. Societal factors, presence of advanced directives, and WOC decisions must be considered when assessing TC performance. Although our crude mortality rate was 6.4%, it was only 2.4% in patients we were actually permitted to treat. We suggest a WOC factor should be added to TC data to characterize mortality rates more accurately., (Published by Mosby, Inc.)

Background: The incidence of appendicitis is highest in young patients, but the number of elderly patients with appendicitis appears to be increasing. The authors evaluated a statewide experience to assess the effect of age on resource utilization and outcomes for this common disease., Methods: All discharges from Kentucky hospitals for appendicitis were identified. Patients from rehabilitation hospitals, those with inflammatory bowel disease, and those undergoing incidental appendectomy were excluded., Results: Young (aged ≤ 29 years) and middle-aged (aged 30-64 years) patients each constituted 45% of all patients with appendicitis. Length of stay, hospital charges, and frequency of complicated appendicitis all increased with age. Although elderly patients (aged ≥ 80 years) underwent laparoscopic appendectomy as frequently (60%) as younger patients, they were more likely to undergo complicated open procedures., Conclusions: Older patients represent a substantial population of patients with appendicitis, with more complicated operative procedures, increased lengths of stay, and increased resource utilization., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Traumatic brain injuries are a frequent cause of death and a substantial source of morbidity. Neurosurgeons (NS) are commonly involved in the management of patients with moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries to minimize morbidity from both primary and secondary brain injuries. However, NS willing to care for injured patients have become increasingly scarce. Although many institutions have been individually affected by shortages of NS providing care to injured patients, data on regional changes in NS availability and the effect on patient care are limited., Methods: We queried a state discharge database for all traumatic intracranial hemorrhages (ICH) and skull fractures from 2004 to 2007 by International Classification of Diseases-9th Rev.-Clinical Modification codes. Institutions were categorized as those that admitted >30 or <30 ICH patients per year. The state medical society provided the number of NS practicing in the state per year., Results: The total number of patients with significant head injuries increased over the study period. The number of NS decreased over the same time period. A greater proportion of patients were managed in centers admitting >30 ICH per year, and the number of facilities admitting <30 ICH per year decreased., Conclusion: In this state, increasing numbers of patients with ICH are being concentrated in a small number of centers, while the number of NS available to care for them has decreased. Shortages in neurosurgical workforce for patients with traumatic ICH have the potential for catastrophic consequences on a regional basis if effective solutions to this manpower issue are not created.

Abdominal gunshot wounds (GSW) are a source of morbidity and mortality. Limited data are available on the effect of hollow viscus injuries (HVI) secondary to gunshot wounds. GSW sustained in the Louisville area from 2004 to 2007 were reviewed. Attention was given to the impact of HVI from abdominal GSW. Statistical significance was determined. One-hundred ten patients sustained GSW with peritoneal violation. Eighty-six had HVI. Eighteen died after laparotomy with 15 having an HVI. Patients undergoing damage control (DC) have a significant increase in mortality compared with those not requiring DC. Exsanguination was the major cause of mortality (67%). Mortality directly related to HVI was found in 11 per cent. Twenty patients underwent DC with 11 deaths. Isolated HVI did not show a significantly increased mortality compared with other injury patterns involving solid organ or major vascular structures. Various methods of repair showed no significant survival advantage. Recognition and repair of HVI in abdominal GSW is crucial to patient salvage. Definitive repair of HVI at the initial operation should be considered. Primary repair of HVI is preferred although no survival disadvantage is seen in other forms of repair in marginally stable patients. Definitive repair at the initial operation decreases complications.

Nonoperative management of splenic trauma is now the most common treatment modality for splenic injuries and splenectomy has almost disappeared in some trauma centers. Splenectomy for cancer staging is infrequently performed suggesting that the indications for splenectomy continue to evolve. We evaluated a state database to assess a communitywide experience with splenic surgery. International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes were used to determine the indication for splenic surgery. Indications for splenic surgery were listed as trauma (injury codes), medical (hematological diseases, neoplasms, or procedures in which the spleen might be removed contiguously like distal pancreatectomy), or incidental (noncontiguous procedures). Splenectomies for medical indications (n = 607, 43%) were more common than splenectomies for trauma (n = 518, 37%) or incidental splenectomies (n = 276, 20%). Splenectomy for medical reasons was associated with hematologic disease in 56 per cent, neoplastic disease in 34 per cent, and other diagnoses in 10 per cent of cases. Incidental splenectomies were most commonly associated with operations on the esophagus/stomach (32%) and colon (30%). Mortality rate and length of stay were greatest for incidental (14.4 +/- 0.9 days, 10.9% mortality) compared with trauma (11.0 +/- 0.5 days, 7.7% mortality) or medical (9.7 +/- 0.4 days, 4.8% mortality) splenectomies (all P < 0.05 versus incidental). Our results suggest that in the era of nonoperative management of splenic injuries, medical indications now represent the most common reason for splenectomy. As laparoscopic techniques for elective splenectomy become more common, the changing indication for splenectomy has important ramifications for surgical education and training.

Background: The implementation of revised surgical resident work hours has led many teaching hospitals to integrate health care extenders into the trauma service. We undertook this review to assess the effectiveness of these individuals in meeting the goals of the work hour restrictions and whether they impact other hospital and patient outcomes., Methods: During the year 2002, we integrated two nurse practitioners into the trauma service of a teaching hospital. We prospectively collected data a year before (2001), during (2002), and a year after (2003) the integration that included number of admissions, hospital length of stay, intensive care stay, floor length of stay, mortality, direct cost per case, and weekly resident work hours on 44 residents at all levels., Results: After the incorporation of physician extenders, we observed statistically significant reductions in floor, intensive care unit, and overall hospital lengths of stay. Patient mortality and cost per patient remained unchanged. Furthermore, we were able to obtain compliance with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements for residency work hour limitations, as the average number of hours worked per resident on the trauma service decreased from 86 hours to 79 hours per week., Conclusion: As graduate medical education becomes ever more regulated, physician extenders can be successfully integrated into busy academic Level I trauma centers. This integration positively impacts patient flow and resident work hours without altering patient outcomes or direct hospital cost.

Motorcycle crashes are common occurrences in Kentucky, and often result in injury or death. The use of motorcycle helmets may improve injury outcomes. Data collected from University of Louisville Hospital trauma center were used to investigate the association between motorcycle helmet use and traumatic brain injuries (TBI), severe head injuries, and acute care hospital charges. Multiple logistic and linear regression models were used for analysis. Motorcycle drivers who did not wear helmets were more likely to incur a TBI (OR = 4.33, 95% CI: 2.60-7.20), severe head injuries (OR = 4.36, 95% CI: 2.58-7.37), and higher acute care hospital charges (beta = $26,618, 95% CI: $8670-$44,565). Kentucky's failure to require mandatory helmet use may increase incidence of TBI and severe head injuries among motorcyclists, and cost state government millions of dollars to pay for care for uninsured or Medicaid patients.