A Nationwide Analysis of Popliteal Vascular Injuries and Outcomes by Hospital Teaching Status

Abstract

BackgroundPopliteal artery injuries are the second most common arterial injuries below the inguinal ligament. We aimed to compare outcomes in patients with popliteal injuries by hospital teaching status utilizing the National Trauma Data Bank Research Data Set (NTDB-RDS) 2013-2016. MethodsFour-year retrospective study using the NTDB-RDS, evaluating popliteal vascular injuries. Patients were divided by popliteal injury type and teaching status into; nonteaching hospital (NTH), community teaching (CTH), or University teaching (UTH). Demographics and outcome measures were compared between groups. Risk-adjusted mortality odds ratios (ORs) were calculated. Significance was defined as P < 0.05. Results3,577,168 patients were in the NTDB-RDS, with 1120 having a popliteal injury, (incidence = 0.03%). There was no significant difference in the amputation rate between patients treated in NTHs, CTHs, or UTHs (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the raw mortality rate between patients treated in NTHs, CTHs, or UTHs. After adjusting for confounders; compared to NTH, the odds ratio for mortality for popliteal artery injuries in the CTH group was significantly higher (OR: 15.95, 95% CI: 1.19-213.84), and for the UTH group the mortality was also significantly higher (OR: 5.74, 95% CI: 0.45-72.95). ConclusionsThe incidence of popliteal vascular injuries was 0.03% for 2013-2016. Patients with popliteal artery injuries treated at community teaching hospitals have a 16 times higher risk of mortality and at university teaching hospitals have a 5.7 times higher risk of mortality than patients treated at nonteaching hospitals.