An Analysis of Patients Dead on Arrival in the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Program Participant Use File Data Set.

Abstract

Trauma patient care begins on-scene as field triage and mode of transportation are determinants of patient outcomes. This study evaluates the US national patterns of dead on arrival (DOA) among the trauma population. A cross-sectional review of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Trauma Quality Program Participant Use File (TQP-PUF) data set (2013-2017) was performed. Trauma patients reported as DOA were stratified by ISS into low (<15), intermediate (15-24), or high (≥25) severity. Each group was then subdivided by patient demographics, mechanism, type of injury, and mode of transportation. Of the 4336816 injury cases in the TQP-PUF data set, 33199 were DOA (.77%). 77.1% (25604/33199) of DOAs were male. In the low-ISS group, .36% (13272/3639811) were DOA; in the intermediate-ISS group, 1.2% (4868/421994) were DOA; and in the high-ISS group, 5.5% (15059/275011) were DOA. Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) (11262) and firearms (8894) were the most common injury types, equating to 60.7% of DOAs. Falls accounted for 9.1% of all DOAs. The most common DOA age-group was 18-64 years, followed by ≥65years. DOA trauma patients are predominately adult men suffering fatal blunt force injuries most frequently via MVC. DOAs are caused by all ranges of injury severity. We recommend further development of prevention programs thereby reducing the prevalence of common traumatic injuries, notably MVC, falls, and firearms to improve survival. Future studies should also investigate the access to and distribution of trauma centers and the role of helicopter, ground, and police transport modalities and transport time on and reducing DOAs and improving trauma patient outcomes.