Traumatic Injury Under COVID-19 Stay-at-home Advisory: Experience of a New England Trauma Center
Name:
Publisher version
View Source
Access full-text PDFOpen Access
View Source
Check access options
Check access options
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of SurgeryDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2021-08-10
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
BACKGROUND: With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent widespread stay-at-home advisories throughout early 2020, hospitals have noticed a decrease in illnesses unrelated to COVID-19. However, the impact on traumatic injury is relatively unknown. This study aims to characterize patterns of trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic at a Level I Trauma Center. MATERIALS and METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of adult trauma patients from March to June, in the years 2018 through 2020. Primary outcome was the number of trauma activations (volume). Secondary outcomes included activation level, mechanism of injury, mortality rate, and length of stay, and other demographic background. Trauma patterns of the 2018 and 2019 periods were combined as historical control, and compared to patterns of the biweekly-matched period of 2020. RESULTS: A total of 2,187 patients were included in analysis (Pre-COVID n = 1,572; COVID n = 615). Results were significant for decreased trauma volume but longer length of stay during COVID cohort, and for an increased proportion of males. No significant difference was found for other demographic variables, trauma mechanisms, or severity. Trauma volume patterns mirrored COVID rates in the state. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a decline in trauma volume, other trauma patterns including severity and mechanism remained unchanged during the COVID-19 period. The decreased volume was not associated with a markedly lower clinical workload, change in team structure, or provider coverage re-distribution. Our data suggests that trauma volume and severity remained high enough during COVID-19 peak to necessitate full staffing, which may provide guidance in the event of a pandemic resurgence.Source
Williams CH, Scott EM, Dorfman JD, Simon BJ. Traumatic Injury Under COVID-19 Stay-at-home Advisory: Experience of a New England Trauma Center. J Surg Res. 2021 Aug 10;269:165-170. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2021.08.005. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34563843; PMCID: PMC8352668. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1016/j.jss.2021.08.005Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/27507PubMed ID
34563843Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.jss.2021.08.005