The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index as a Predictor of Complications in Geriatric Trauma Patients

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is associated with increased morbidity and mortality after trauma. The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) is a validated scoring system used to predict the risk of complications related to malnutrition in nontrauma patients. We hypothesized that GNRI is predictive of worse outcomes in geriatric trauma patients. METHODS: This was a single-center retrospective study of trauma patients 65 years or older admitted in 2019. Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index was calculated based on admission albumin level and ratio of actual body weight to ideal body weight. Groups were defined as major risk (GNRI98). The primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes included ventilator days, intensive care unit length of stay (LOS), hospital LOS, discharge home, sepsis, pneumonia, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between GNRI risk category and outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 513 patients were identified for analysis. Median age was 78 years (71-86 years); 24 patients (4.7%) were identified as major risk, 66 (12.9%) as moderate risk, 72 (14%) as low risk, and 351 (68.4%) as no risk. Injury Severity Scores and Charlson Comorbidity Indexes were similar between all groups. Patients in the no risk group had decreased rates of death, and after adjusting for Injury Severity Score, age, and Charlson Comorbidity Index, the no risk group had decreased odds of death (odds ratio, 0.13; 95% confidence interval, 0.04-0.41) compared with the major risk group. The no risk group also had fewer infectious complications including sepsis and pneumonia, and shorter hospital LOS and were more likely to be discharged home. CONCLUSIONS: Major GNRI risk is associated with increased mortality and infectious complications in geriatric trauma patients. Further studies should target interventional strategies for those at highest risk based on GNRI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic and Epidemiologic; Level III

Rates and Risk Factors for Anastomotic Leak Following Blunt Trauma-Associated Bucket Handle Intestinal Injuries: A Multicenter Study

OBJECTIVES: The risk factors for anastomotic leak (AL) after resection and primary anastomosis for traumatic bucket handle injury (BHI) have not been previously defined. This multicenter study was conducted to address this knowledge gap. METHODS: This is a multicenter retrospective study on small intestine and colonic BHIs from blunt trauma between 2010 and 2021. Baseline patient characteristics, risk factors, presence of shock and transfusion, operative details, and clinical outcomes were compared using R. RESULTS: Data on 395 subjects were submitted by 12 trauma centers, of whom 33 (8.1%) patients developed AL. Baseline details were similar, except for a higher proportion of patients in the AL group who had medical comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity (60.6% vs. 37.3%, p=0.015). AL had higher rates of surgical site infections (13.4% vs. 5.3%, p=0.004) and organ space infections (65.2% vs. 11.7%, p0.05). More patients with AL were discharged with an ostomy (69.7% vs. 7.3%, p6 units of packed red blood cells, and site of injury (adjusted RR=2.32 (1.13, 5.17)), none of which were independent risk factors in themselves. CONCLUSION: Damage control surgery performed as the initial operation appears to double the risk of AL after intestinal BHI, even after controlling for other markers of injury severity. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III

Shock-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction is Present in Patients With Occult Hypoperfusion After Trauma

BACKGROUND: Shock-induced endothelial dysfunction, evidenced by elevated soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) and syndecan-1 (Syn-1), is associated with poor outcomes after trauma. The association of endothelial dysfunction and overt shock has been demonstrated; it is unknown if hypoperfusion in the setting of normal vital signs (occult hypoperfusion [OH]) is associated with endothelial dysfunction. We hypothesized that sTM and Syn-1 would be elevated in patients with OH when compared to patients with normal perfusion. METHODS: A single-center study of patients requiring highest-level trauma activation (2012–2016) was performed. Trauma bay arrival plasma Syn-1 and sTM were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Shock was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) <90mmHg or heart rate (HR) ≥120 bpm. OH was defined as SBP≥90, HR<120, and base excess (BE) ≤−3. Normal perfusion was assigned to all others. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed. RESULTS: Of 520 patients, 35% presented with OH and 26% with shock. Demographics were similar between groups. Patients with normal perfusion had the lowest Syn-1 and sTM, while patients with OH and shock had elevated levels. OH was associated with increased sTM by 0.97 ng/mL (95% CI 0.39–1.57, p=0.001) and Syn-1 by 14.3 ng/mL (95% CI −1.5–30.2, p=0.08). Furthermore, shock was associated with increased sTM by 0.64 (95% CI 0.02–1.30, p=0.04) and with increased Syn-1 by 23.6 ng/mL (95% CI 6.2–41.1, p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Arrival OH was associated with elevated sTM and Syn-1, indicating endothelial dysfunction. Treatments aiming to stabilize the endothelium may be beneficial for injured patients with evidence of hypoperfusion, regardless of vital signs

Dysphagia is associated with worse clinical outcomes in geriatric trauma patients

Introduction Dysphagia is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and resource utilization in hospitalized patients, but studies on outcomes in geriatric trauma patients with dysphagia are limited. We hypothesized that geriatric trauma patients with dysphagia would have worse clinical outcomes compared with those without dysphagia.Methods Patients with and without dysphagia were compared in a single-center retrospective cohort study of trauma patients aged ≥65 years admitted in 2019. The primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes included intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), hospital LOS, discharge destination, and unplanned ICU admission. Multivariable regression analyses and Bayesian analyses adjusted for age, Injury Severity Score, mechanism of injury, and gender were performed to determine the association between dysphagia and clinical outcomes.Results Of 1706 geriatric patients, 69 patients (4%) were diagnosed with dysphagia. Patients with dysphagia were older with a higher Injury Severity Score. Increased odds of mortality did not reach statistical significance (OR 1.6, 95% CI 0.6 to 3.4, p=0.30). Dysphagia was associated with increased odds of unplanned ICU admission (OR 4.6, 95% CI 2.0 to 9.6, p≤0.001) and non-home discharge (OR 5.2, 95% CI 2.4 to 13.9, p≤0.001), as well as increased ICU LOS (OR 4.9, 95% CI 3.1 to 8.1, p≤0.001), and hospital LOS (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.7 to 2.6, p≤0.001). On Bayesian analysis, dysphagia was associated with an increased probability of longer hospital and ICU LOS, unplanned ICU admission, and non-home discharge.Conclusions Clinically apparent dysphagia is associated with poor outcomes, but it remains unclear if dysphagia represents a modifiable risk factor or a marker of underlying frailty, leading to poor outcomes. This study highlights the importance of screening protocols for dysphagia in geriatric trauma patients to possibly mitigate adverse outcomes.Level of evidence Level III

Testing formation mechanisms of the Milky Way's thick disc with RAVE

We study the eccentricity distribution of a thick-disc sample of stars (defined as those with V-y > 50 km s-1 and 1 < |z|/kpc < 3) observed in the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE). We compare this distribution with those obtained in four simulations of galaxy formation taken from the literature as compiled by Sales et al. Each simulation emphasizes different scenarios for the origin of such stars (satellite accretion, heating of a pre-existing thin disc during a merger, radial migration, and gas-rich mergers). We find that the observed distribution peaks at low eccentricities and falls off smoothly and rather steeply to high eccentricities. This finding is fairly robust to changes in distances and to plausible assumptions about thin-disc contamination. Our results favour models where the majority of stars formed in the Galaxy itself on orbits of modest eccentricity and disfavour the pure satellite accretion case. A gas-rich merger origin where most of the stars form 'in situ' appears to be the most consistent with our data