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Trauma registry comparison: six-year results in trauma care in Southern Finland and Germany

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Abstract

Purpose

To compare the treatment and survival of trauma patients in Germany and Southern Finland.

Methods

Data from Helsinki University Hospital trauma registry (TR-THEL) and TraumaRegister DGU® (TR-DGU) were compared in a period from 2006 until 2011. From TR-DGU level-one trauma centers treating annually >50 injury severity score (ISS) >15 patients were included. The inclusion criterion was ISS >15. Patients under 16 years with penetrating trauma without head injury and transferred in with isolated head injury were excluded. The compared parameters were age, sex, pre-injury ASA, injury scoring, injury pattern, mechanism of injury, injury distribution, pre-hospital timings, transportation method, pre-hospital intubation, treatment at hospital, discharge destination, and 30-day hospital mortality. Expected mortality was defined with the Revised Injury Severity Classification score (RISC).

Results

Eighty-five German level-one trauma centers were included. A total of 15,306 and 1,274 patients were included in the outcome analysis from TR-DGU and TR-THEL, respectively. The difference between the observed and expected mortality of all patients was −4.1 % (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] 0.82) at German hospitals and −4.0 % (SMR 0.79) in Helsinki. Differences in the pre- and in-hospital treatment between the two countries were noted (transportation method, intubation rate, intensive care unit treatment, ventilation time, length of stay).

Conclusion

The overall outcome results of the Helsinki University Hospital trauma unit were similar to those of the German level-one trauma centers. Registry comparison is a feasible method of quality control in a trauma centre.

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Conflict of interest

Tuomas Brinck declares that he has no conflict of interest. Lauri Handolin declares that he has no conflict of interest. Thomas Paffrath declares that he has no conflict of interest. Rolf Lefering declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Ethical standard

Given the retrospective nature of the study a waiver for ethical assessment was granted and the study protocol was approved by the administrative board of the TR-THEL, and was registered and approved according to the publication guideline of the TR-DGU (No. 2012-053).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Trauma Unit, Töölö Hospital, Helsinki University Hospital, Topeliuksenkatu 5, PB 266, FI-00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland

    T. Brinck & L. Handolin

  2. Department for Trauma Surgery and Orthopaedics, Faculty of Health, Cologne Merheim Medical Center, University of Witten/Herdecke, Cologne, Germany

    T. Paffrath

  3. Institute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM), University of Witten/Herdecke, Cologne, Germany

    R. Lefering

Authors
  1. T. Brinck
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  2. L. Handolin
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  3. T. Paffrath
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  4. R. Lefering
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. Brinck.

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Brinck, T., Handolin, L., Paffrath, T. et al. Trauma registry comparison: six-year results in trauma care in Southern Finland and Germany. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 41, 509–516 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-014-0470-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-014-0470-z

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