title: Maternal death in the emergency department from trauma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Trauma during pregnancy is among leading causes of non-pregnancy-related maternal death (MD). This study describes risk factors for MD from trauma during pregnancy in a large urban population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We queried an urban Level One Trauma Center registry for the medical records of pregnant women suffering trauma from 1990 to 2007. Associations were examined between maternal demographics, injury mode details, injury characteristics, and risk of maternal death upon arrival to the emergency room.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 351 patients were identified. Most traumas was caused by motor vehicle collision (71.8 %), accounting for 78.9 % of MD, followed by gun shot wound (10.3 %), stabbing (8.5 %), falls (4.3 %), and assaults (4 %). Abdominal and head injuries were more frequent in cases of MD compared with patients admitted to the hospital (33.3 vs. 25.1 % abdominal, 55.6 vs. 29.4 % head; p < 0.001). A greater proportion of MDs were characterized by lack of restraint use (66.7 %) compared to women admitted to the hospital (47.7 %) and women discharged after observation (43.1 %); p = 0.014. ER deaths had more negative base excess scores than women who were admitted or discharged (-14 vs. -3 vs. -2; p < 0.001), lower blood pH values (6.96 vs. 7.40 vs. 7.44; p < 0.001), greater Injury Severity Scores (ISS) (44.4 vs. 11.49 vs. 2.66; p < 0.001), and lower Revised Trauma Scores (RTS) (0.5 vs. 7.49 vs. 7.83; p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lack of restraint use in the pregnant population is associated with increased MD. Although not validated in the pregnant population, the ISS and RTS were associated with maternal mortality outcomes.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors: Kathleen F
authors: KF
authors: Brookfield
authors: Victor H
authors: VH
authors: Gonzalez-Quintero
authors: James S
authors: JS
authors: Davis
authors: Carl I
authors: CI
authors: Schulman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D063130:Maternal Death / Q000209:etiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult