Clin Exp Emerg Med.  2023 Mar;10(1):37-43. 10.15441/ceem.22.318.

Survival benefit of direct transport to trauma centers among patients with unintentional injuries in Korea: a propensity score-matched analysis

• Lee DJ
• Ko SH
• Kang J
• Kim MC
• Choi HZ

• KMID: 2541377
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15441/ceem.22.318

Abstract

Objective
This study investigated the characteristics and survival rates of patients with unintentional severe trauma who visited a regional trauma center (TC) or a non-TC.
Methods
This retrospective, national, population-based, observational, case-control study included patients with abnormal Revised Trauma Score from January 2018 to December 2018. We divided hospitals into two types, TC and non-TC, and compared several variables, including in-hospital mortality. Propensity score matching was used to reduce the effect of confounding variables that influence survival outcome variables.
Results
Of the 25,743 patients, 5,796 visited a TC and 19,947 visited a non-TC. Compared to patients treated at non-TCs, patients treated at TCs were more likely to have a higher Injury Severity Score (TC, 11.5; non-TC, 7.4; P<0.001), higher rate of surgery or transcatheter arterial embolization (TC, 39.2%; non-TC, 17.6%; P<0.001), and higher admission rate (TC, 64.7%; non-TC, 36.9%; P<0.001) through the emergency department. After propensity score matching, 2,800 patients from both groups were analyzed. Patients in the TC had a higher survival rate than patients that were not treated in the TC (TC, 83.0%; non-TC, 78.6%; P=0.003).
Conclusion
This study using Korean emergency medical services data showed that initial transport to trauma centers was associated with mortality reduction. Further research is required because of limitations with use of single-year data and retrospective design.

Keyword

Emergency medical services; Trauma centers; Propensity score; Hospital mortality