title: Factors correlating with delayed trauma center admission following traumatic brain injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Delayed admission to appropriate care has been shown increase mortality following traumatic brain injury (TBI). We investigated factors associated with delayed admission to a hospital with neurosurgical expertise in a cohort of TBI patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis of all TBI patients treated in the ICUs of Helsinki University Central Hospital was carried out from 1.1.2009 to 31.12.2010. Patients were categorized into two groups: direct admission and delayed admission. Patients in the delayed admission group were initially transported to a local hospital without neurosurgical expertise before inter-transfer to the designated hospital. Multivariate logistic regression was utilized to identify pre-hospital factors associated with delayed admission.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 431 included patients 65% of patients were in the direct admission groups and 35% in the delayed admission groups (median time to admission 1:07h, IQR 0:52-1:28 vs. 4:06h, IQR 2:53-5:43, p <0.001). In multivariate analysis factors increasing the likelihood of delayed admission were (OR, 95% CI): male gender (3.82, 1.60-9.13), incident at public place compared to home (0.26, 0.11-0.61), high energy trauma (0.05, 0.01-0.28), pre-hospital physician consultation (0.15, 0.06-0.39) or presence (0.08, 0.03-0.22), hypotension (0.09, 0.01-0.93), major extra cranial injury (0.17, 0.05-0.55), abnormal pupillary light reflex (0.26, 0.09-0.73) and severe alcohol intoxication (12.44, 2.14-72.38). A significant larger proportion of patients in the delayed admission group required acute craniotomy for mass lesion when admitted to the neurosurgical hospital (57%, 21%, p< 0.001). No significant difference in 6-month mortality was noted between the groups (p= 0.814).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Delayed trauma center admission following TBI is common. Factors increasing likelihood of this were: male gender, incident at public place compared to home, low energy trauma, absence of pre-hospital physician involvement, stable blood pressure, no major extra cranial injuries, normal pupillary light reflex and severe alcohol intoxication. Focused educational efforts and access to physician consultation may help expedite access to appropriate care in TBI patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. rahul.raj@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raj
authors.forename: Jari
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siironen
authors.forename: Riku
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kivisaari
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuisma
authors.forename: Tuomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brinck
authors.forename: Jaakko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lappalainen
authors.forename: Markus B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Skrifvars
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010343:Patient Admission; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D061665:Time-to-Treatment; D014187:Transportation of Patients; D014193:Trauma Centers; D014218:Triage
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