Polytraumaversorgung als Bereich der hochspezialisierten Medizin

Schwerverletzte Patientinnen und Patienten werden in der Schweiz im Rahmen der interkantonalen Vereinbarung der hochspezialisierten Medizin (IVHSM) behandelt. Das Swiss Trauma Board und die dort vereinten zwölf Schweizer Traumazentren arbeiten unter anderem mit dem deutschen Traumaregister zusammen, um eine bestmögliche Behandlung der Verletzten zu gewährleisten

Timing of Spinal Surgery in Polytrauma: The Relevance of Injury Severity, Injury Level and Associated Injuries

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective database analysis. OBJECTIVE Polytraumatized patients with spinal injuries require tailor-made treatment plans. Severity of both spinal and concomitant injuries determine timing of spinal surgery. Aim of this study was to evaluate the role of spinal injury localization, severity and concurrent injury patterns on timing of surgery and subsequent outcome. METHODS The TraumaRegister DGU$^{®}$ was utilized and patients, aged ≥16 years, with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥16 and diagnosed with relevant spinal injuries (abbreviated injury scale, AIS ≥ 3) were selected. Concurrent spinal and non-spinal injuries were analysed and the relation between injury severity, concurrent injury patterns and timing of spinal surgery was determined. RESULTS 12.596 patients with a mean age of 50.8 years were included. 7.2% of patients had relevant multisegmental spinal injuries. Furthermore, 50% of patients with spine injuries AIS ≥3 had a more severe non-spinal injury to another body part. ICU and hospital stay were superior in patients treated within 48 hrs for lumbar and thoracic spinal injuries. In cervical injuries early intervention (<48 hrs) was associated with increased mortality rates (9.7 vs 6.3%). CONCLUSIONS The current multicentre study demonstrates that polytrauma patients frequently sustain multiple spinal injuries, and those with an index spine injury may therefore benefit from standardized whole-spine imaging. Moreover, timing of surgical spinal surgery and outcome appear to depend on the severity of concomitant injuries and spinal injury localization. Future prospective studies are needed to identify trauma characteristics that are associated with improved outcome upon early or late spinal surgery

The number of beds occupied is an independent risk factor for discharge of trauma patients

Reducing the burden of limited capacity on medical practitioners and public health systems requires a time-dependent characterization of hospitalization rates, such that inferences can be drawn about the underlying causes for hospitalization and patient discharge. The aim of this study was to analyze non-medical risk factors that lead to the discharge of trauma patients. This retrospective cohort study includes trauma patients who were treated in Switzerland between 2011 and 2018. The national Swiss database for quality assurance in surgery (AQC) was reviewed for trauma diagnoses according to the ICD-10 code. Non-medical risk factors include seasonal changes, daily changes, holidays, and number of beds occupied by trauma patients across Switzerland. Individual patient information was aggregated into counts per day of total patients, as well as counts per day of levels of each categorical variable of interest. The ARIMA-modeling was utilized to model the number of discharges per day as a function of auto aggressive function of all previously mentioned risk factors. This study includes 226,708 patients, 118,059 male (age 48.18, standard deviation (SD) 22.34 years) and 108,649 female (age 62.57, SD 22.89 years) trauma patients. The mean length of stay was 7.16 (SD 14.84) days and most patients were discharged home (n = 168,582, 74.8%). A weekly and yearly seasonality trend can be observed in admission trends. The mean number of occupied trauma beds ranges from 3700 to 4000 per day. The number of occupied beds increases on weekdays and decreases on holidays. The number of occupied beds is a positive, independent risk factor for discharge in trauma patients; as the number of occupied beds increases at any given time, so does the risk for discharge. The number of beds occupied represents an independent non-medical risk factor for discharge. Capacity determines triage of hospitalized patients and therefore might increase the risk of premature discharge

Implementation of a novel nursing assessment tool in geriatric trauma patients with proximal femur fractures

BACKGROUND Geriatric trauma patients represent a special challenge in postoperative care and are prone to specific complications. The goal of this study was to analyse the predictive potential of a novel nursing assessment tool, the outcome-oriented nursing assessment for acute care (ePA-AC), in geriatric trauma patients with proximal femur fractures (PFF). METHODS A retrospective cohort study of geriatric trauma patients aged ≥ 70 years with PFF was conducted at a level 1 trauma centre. The ePA-AC is a routinely used tool that evaluates pneumonia; confusion, delirium and dementia (CDD); decubitus (Braden Score); the risk of falls; the Fried Frailty index (FFI); and nutrition. Assessment of the novel tool included analysis of its ability to predict complications including delirium, pneumonia and decubitus. RESULTS The novel ePA-AC tool was investigated in 71 geriatric trauma patients. In total, 49 patients (67.7%) developed at least one complication. The most common complication was delirium (n = 22, 44.9%). The group with complications (Group C) had a significantly higher FFI compared with the group without complications (Group NC) (1.7 ± 0.5 vs 1.2 ± 0.4, p = 0.002). Group C had a significantly higher risk score for malnutrition compared with Group NC (6.3 ± 3.4 vs 3.9 ± 2.8, p = 0.004). A higher FFI score increased the risk of developing complications (odds ratio [OR] 9.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.0 to 47.7, p = 0.005). A higher CDD score increased the risk of developing delirium (OR 9.3, 95% CI 2.9 to 29.4, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION The FFI, CDD, and nutritional assessment tools are associated with the development of complications in geriatric trauma patients with PFF. These tools can support the identification of geriatric patients at risk and might guide individualised treatment strategies and preventive measures

Age-Dependent Patient and Trauma Characteristics and Hospital Resource Requirements-Can Improvement Be Made? An Analysis from the German Trauma Registry

Background and objectives: The burden of geriatric trauma patients continues to rise in Western society. Injury patterns and outcomes differ from those seen in younger adults. Getting a better understanding of these differences helps medical staff to provide a better care for the elderly. The aim of this study was to determine epidemiological differences between geriatric trauma patients and their younger counterparts. To do so, we used data of polytraumatized patients from the TraumaRegister DGU$^{®}$. Materials and Methods: All adult patients that were admitted between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2017 were included from the TraumaRegister DGU$^{®}$. Patients aged 55 and above were defined as the elderly patient group. Patients aged 18-54 were included as control group. Patient and trauma characteristics, as well as treatment and outcome were compared between groups. Results: A total of 114,169 severely injured trauma patients were included, of whom 55,404 were considered as elderly patients and 58,765 younger patients were selected for group 2. Older patients were more likely to be admitted to a Level II or III trauma center. Older age was associated with a higher occurrence of low energy trauma and isolated traumatic brain injury. More restricted utilization of CT-imaging at admission was observed in older patients. While the mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) throughout the age groups stayed consistent, mortality rates increased with age: the overall mortality in young trauma patients was 7.0%, and a mortality rate of 40.2% was found in patients >90 years of age. Conclusions: This study shows that geriatric trauma patients are more frequently injured due to low energy trauma, and more often diagnosed with isolated craniocerebral injuries than younger patients. Furthermore, utilization of diagnostic tools as well as outcome differ between both groups. Given the aging society in Western Europe, upcoming studies should focus on the right application of resources and optimizing trauma care for the geriatric trauma patient

Discrimination and calibration of a prediction model for mortality is decreased in secondary transferred patients: a validation in the TraumaRegister DGU

INTRODUCTION The Revised Injury Severity Classification II (RISC II) score represents a data-derived score that aims to predict mortality in severely injured patients. The aim of this study was to assess the discrimination and calibration of RISC II in secondary transferred polytrauma patients. METHODS This study was performed on the multicentre database of the TraumaRegister DGU. Inclusion criteria included Injury Severity Score (ISS)≥9 points and complete demographic data. Exclusion criteria included patients with 'do not resuscitate' orders or late transfers (>24 hours after initial trauma). Patients were stratified based on way of admission into patients transferred to a European trauma centre after initial treatment in another hospital (group Tr) and primary admitted patients who were not transferred out (group P). The RISC II score was calculated within each group at admission after secondary transfer (group Tr) and at primary admission (group P) and compared with the observed mortality rate. The calibration and discrimination of prediction were analysed. RESULTS Group P included 116 112 (91%) patients and group Tr included 11 604 (9%) patients. The study population was predominantly male (n=86 280, 70.1%), had a mean age of 53.2 years and a mean ISS of 20.7 points. Patients in group Tr were marginally older (54 years vs 52 years) and a had slightly higher ISS (21.5 points vs 20.1 points). Median time from accident site to hospital admission was 60 min in group P and 241 min (4 hours) in group Tr. Observed and predicted mortality based on RISC II were nearly identical in group P (10.9% and 11.0%, respectively) but predicted mortality was worse (13.4%) than observed mortality (11.1%) in group Tr. CONCLUSION The way of admission alters the calibration of prediction models for mortality in polytrauma patients. Mortality prediction in secondary transferred polytrauma patients should be calculated separately from primary admitted polytrauma patients

ERIGrid Holistic Test Description for Validating Cyber-Physical Energy Systems

Smart energy solutions aim to modify and optimise the operation of existing energy infrastructure. Such cyber-physical technology must be mature before deployment to the actual infrastructure, and competitive solutions will have to be compliant to standards still under development. Achieving this technology readiness and harmonisation requires reproducible experiments and appropriately realistic testing environments. Such testbeds for multi-domain cyber-physical experiments are complex in and of themselves. This work addresses a method for the scoping and design of experiments where both testbed and solution each require detailed expertise. This empirical work first revisited present test description approaches, developed a newdescription method for cyber-physical energy systems testing, and matured it by means of user involvement. The new Holistic Test Description (HTD) method facilitates the conception, deconstruction and reproduction of complex experimental designs in the domains of cyber-physical energy systems. This work develops the background and motivation, offers a guideline and examples to the proposed approach, and summarises experience from three years of its application.This work received funding in the European Community’s Horizon 2020 Program (H2020/2014–2020) under project “ERIGrid” (Grant Agreement No. 654113)

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London