The use of routine laboratory testing in acute trauma care: A retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: In more than 60 countries worldwide, laboratory testing plays a challenging and expensive role in trauma resuscitation. In 1995, the literature already suggested that routine laboratory testing may not be useful for most trauma patients. Our study hypothesized that still the need for some laboratory tests perhaps should be reconsidered. Therefore, the aim of this study was to create more insight in the distribution between normal and abnormal parameters for routine laboratory testing in trauma patient management. METHODS: This retrospective analysis was performed at Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, an academic level 1 trauma center. Data concerning age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical state classification system (ASA), Injury Severity Scores, Glasgow Coma Scales, mechanism of injury, presence of high-energy trauma, and type of injury (blunt or penetrating) were obtained. Laboratory parameters included comprehensive hematology, coagulation, arterial blood gas, kidney, and liver blood panels. Analytical focus was paid to the patient's vital status, the indication for an emergency intervention, and the risk of in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: A total of 1287 patients were included in the study. Patients with unstable vital signs or who required emergency intervention were most often dealing with abnormalities in pO2, glucose, D-dimer, creatinine, and alcohol values. Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), international normalized ratio (INR), fibrinogen, and amylase were obtained in more than 80% of the patients, but in specific patient groups only abnormal in less than 9%. CONCLUSION: Trauma patients suffer mainly from abnormal values of D-dimer, pO2, glucose, creatinine, and alcohol. By contrast, MCV, INR, amylase, fibrinogen, and thrombocytes are regularly obtained as well, but only abnormal in a small amount of trauma patients. These findings suggest reconsiderations and more accuracy in the performance of laboratory testing, especially for trauma patients with stable vital signs.