Epidemiology of trauma admissions in a level 1 trauma center in Northern Italy: a nine-year study

Margherita Difino,Roberto Bini,Fabrizio Sammartano,Roberto Faccincani,Elisa Reitano,Laura Briani,Osvaldo Chiara,Stefania Cimbanassi

doi:10.1007/s13304-021-00991-y

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the results of 9 years of trauma care and data collection in a level 1 urban trauma center in Northern Italy. Overall, 6065 patients have been included in the study; the number of patients managed yearly has doubled between 2011 and 2019. This rise mostly involved patients with injury severity score (ISS) < 16. Most injuries (94%) were blunt. Road traffic accidents, especially involving motorcycles, were the most common cause of injury. Self-inflicted injuries were responsible for less than 5% of trauma but they were severe in 56% of cases. The median age was 38 and it remained constant over the years; 43% of patients had 14–39 years of age. Different characteristics and patterns of injury were observed for each age group and gender. Males were more likely to be injured in the central years of life while females presented a trimodal pattern in the age distribution. Young adults (14–39 years old) were overall at higher risk of self-harm. Overall mortality was equal to 5.2%. Most deceased were male and ≥ 65 years of age.

Highlights

Trauma is the 3rd cause of death in western countries, after cardiovascular diseases and tumors, and the first cause in population with less than 40 years of age [1], constituting a relevant social and economic burden.Registries collecting data regarding injured patients are used to improve knowledge on trauma and its patterns, with the objective to document in-hospital trauma care in the acute setting [2]
The Trauma Team (TT) of Niguarda Hospital has been keeping a trauma registry, containing all the relevant data on trauma patients managed by the TT, since October 2002
The aim of this study is to investigate the evolution of the demographics of trauma patients and patterns of trauma injuries over a timeframe that ranges from January 1, 2011 to December 15, 2019

Summary

Introduction

Registries collecting data regarding injured patients are used to improve knowledge on trauma and its patterns, with the objective to document in-hospital trauma care in the acute setting [2]. Such registries have multiple applications, e.g. the generation of hypothesis, the planning of protocols and studies and the monitoring of the effectiveness of new interventions; on an administrative level, registries. The Trauma Team (TT) of Niguarda Hospital has been keeping a trauma registry, containing all the relevant data on trauma patients managed by the TT, since October 2002. To the best of our knowledge, this constitutes the largest series of injured patients admitted at a

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