National temporal variation in major trauma in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Abstract

Introduction Trauma is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, but little is known of the temporal variation in major trauma across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Proper workforce and infrastructure planning requires identification of the caseload burden and its temporal variation. Materials and Methods The Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN) database for admissions attending Major Trauma Centres (MTCs) between 1st April 2011 and 31st March 2018 was analysed. TARN records data on all trauma patients admitted to hospital who are alive at the time of admission to hospital. Major trauma was classified as an Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15. Results A total of 158,440 cases were analysed. Case ascertainment was over 95% for 2013 onwards. There was a statistically significant variation in caseload by year (p < 0.0001), times of admissions (p < 0.0001), caseload admitted during weekends vs weekdays, 53% vs 47% (p < 0.0001), caseload by season with most patients admitted during summer (p < 0.0001). The ISS varied by time of admission with most patients admitted between 1800 and 0559 (p < 0.0001), weekend vs weekday with more severely injured patients admitted during the weekend (p < 0.0001) and by season p < 0.0001). Discussion and Conclusion: There is a significant national temporal variation in major trauma workload. The reasons are complex and there are multiple theories and confounding factors to explain it. This is the largest dataset for hospitals submitting to TARN which can help guide workforce and resource allocation to further improve trauma outcomes.