J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2018 Oct;29(5):415-422. 10.0000/jksem.2018.29.5.415.

Impact of interhospital transfer on outcomes for trauma patients: impact of direct versus non-direct transfer

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea. minmk99@pusan.ac.kr

Abstract


OBJECTIVE
This study compared the prognosis of patients who visited the trauma center directly (direct visit group) with those transferred from the non-trauma center (transferred group).
METHODS
The patients, who were 18 or older with Injury Severity Score of 15 or more in the trauma center at Busan, were studied from October 2015 to October 2016. To compare the treatment time between the direct visit and transferred group, first treatment time, final treatment time, and time to visit the trauma center were examined. To compare the prognosis, this study compared the 48-hour, 7-day, and in-hospital mortality rate as well as the duration of intensive care unit (ICU) and total hospital stay. To analyze the factors affecting the outcome of transferred group, the physician's level and procedures that had been performed at the non-trauma center were examined.
RESULTS
The mortality was similar in the direct visit and transferred group (48-hour 7.6% vs. 4.6%, P=0.111; 7-day 11.1% vs. 7.2%, P=0.89; and in-hospital 14.6% vs. 11.3%, P=0.214). The length of ICU and total hospital stay were similar in the two groups. The mortality was higher in the patients in the transferred group when using intubation, transfusion, and pressure intensifier. The intubated patients showed higher mortality according to logistic regression.
CONCLUSION
The mortality, length of ICU, and hospital stay were similar but the time to visit the trauma center and the final treatment time were longer in transferred group. Stabilizing the patient at the near non-trauma center may be more helpful for some patients.

Keyword

Injuries; Patient transfer; Mortality

MeSH Terms

Busan
Hospital Mortality
Humans
Injury Severity Score
Intensive Care Units
Intubation
Length of Stay
Logistic Models
Mortality
Patient Transfer
Prognosis
Trauma Centers
Full Text Links
  • JKSEM
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr