Impact of Thoracic Trauma on the Mortality of Multi-trauma Patients: It Matters - Results From a French Road Trauma Registry 1997-2016

Abstract BackgroundThoracic trauma is the third most common cause of death in multi-trauma patients and is associated with poor short-term outcomes since it is responsible for up to 25% of trauma-related deaths. One of the most frequent mechanism is road traffic accident (RTA), affecting particularly young patients. The primary objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of severe injuries in each body region on the mortality of multi-trauma patients with a particular attention to thoracic trauma. Secondary objectives were to investigate risk factors for mortality in multi-trauma patients but also to describe the epidemiology and injury pattern of these patients when presenting with at least one abbreviated injury scale (AIS) ≥2 thoracic injury (AISThorax≥2).MethodsRetrospective study that included RTA occurring from January 1997 to December 2016. Patients of all ages included in the Rhône RTA registry, with at least one AIS ≥2 injury in any body region were included. Two subgroups were defined according to whether patients presented at least one AISThorax≥2 injury or not. Multivariate regression analysis with mortality as outcome was performed. ResultsA total of 46,526 patients had at least one AIS≥2 injury, among them 6,382 (13.7%) had at least one AISThorax≥2 injury. In the AISThorax≥2 group, the median [IQR] ISS was 14 [6-7] and 16.2% (n=1,031) patients died. Severe (AIS≥3) head (OR=26.8, 95%CI [20.4;35.2]) and thoracic (OR=12.2, 95%CI [8.4;17.7]) injuries were associated with death; as was age [40-59 years (OR=1.3, 95%CI [1.1;1.5]), 60-79 years (OR=2.1, 95%CI [1.7;2.6]), and ≥80 years (OR=5.5, 95%CI [4.2;7.3])], male sex (OR=1.5, 95%CI [1.3;1.7]), RTA occurring in a highway (OR=1.9, 95%CI [1.5;2.4]) or in a rural road (OR=1.8, 95%CI [1.5;2.1]). The most frequent thoracic injury was that of the chest wall (62.1%, n=5,419). The most frequent concomitant AIS≥2 injuries affected the head (29.1%), upper extremities (26.8%), and lower extremities (25.8%).ConclusionsThe present study found that the severity of thoracic trauma was an independent and significant risk factor for death in multi-trauma patients as was age, being a car occupant and having a crash in a rural road or a highway.