Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients Injured in Road Traffic Crashes and Transported by Emergency Medical Services

Chun-Ying Huang, Cheng-Shyuan Rau, Jung-Fang Chuang, Pao-Jen Kuo, Shiun-Yuan Hsu, Yi-Chun Chen, Hsiao-Yun Hsieh and Ching-Hua Hsieh
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Chun-Ying Huang: Department of Trauma Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
Cheng-Shyuan Rau: Department of Neurosurgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
Jung-Fang Chuang: Department of Trauma Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
Pao-Jen Kuo: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
Shiun-Yuan Hsu: Department of Trauma Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
Yi-Chun Chen: Department of Trauma Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
Hsiao-Yun Hsieh: Department of Trauma Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
Ching-Hua Hsieh: Department of Trauma Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: To investigate the injury characteristics and mortality of patients transported by emergency medical services (EMS) and hospitalized for trauma following a road traffic crash, data obtained from the Trauma Registry System were retrospectively reviewed for trauma admissions between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013 in a Level I trauma center. Of 16,548 registered patients, 3978 and 1440 patients injured in road traffic crashes were transported to the emergency department by EMS and non-EMS, respectively. Patients transported by EMS had lower Glasgow coma scale (GCS) scores and worse hemodynamic measures. Compared to patients transported by non-EMS, more patients transported by EMS required procedures (intubation, chest tube insertion, and blood transfusion) at the emergency department. They also sustained a higher injury severity, as measured by the injury severity score (ISS) and the new injury severity score (NISS). Lastly, in-hospital mortality was higher among the EMS than the non-EMS group (1.8% vs. 0.3%, respectively; p < 0.001). However, we found no statistically significant difference in the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for mortality among patients transported by EMS after adjustment for ISS (AOR 4.9, 95% CI 0.33–2.26), indicating that the higher incidence of mortality was likely attributed to the patients’ higher injury severity. In addition, after propensity score matching, logistic regression of 58 well-matched pairs did not show a significant influence of transportation by EMS on mortality (OR: 0.578, 95% CI: 0.132–2.541 p = 0.468).

Keywords: emergency medical services (EMS); injury severity score (ISS); mortality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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