Racial Differences in Treatment Approaches and Mortality Following Arterial Trauma.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to evaluate the impact of race on treatment approaches and mortality following arterial trauma.


METHODS
The National Trauma Data Bank (version 7.2, American College of Surgeons) was queried from 2002 to 2012 to identify patients aged 18 to 65 years with arterial trauma. The association between race (white, black, and Hispanic) and mortality following arterial injury was assessed, stratified by penetrating or blunt injury. Temporal trends in the use of open and endovascular procedures were evaluated across the racial groups. Multivariable regression models adjusting for patient demographics, injury severity, hospital characteristics, insurance status, and type of intervention performed were used to evaluate potential contributors to the association of race with mortality.


RESULTS
The study cohort consisted of 58 626 patients (52% white, 31% black, and 17% Hispanic). A majority (57%) of patients had penetrating injuries, with black and Hispanic patients being more likely to sustain penetrating injuries (80% and 65%, respectively) compared to white patients (41%, P < .001). Overall, black patients had higher mortality for penetrating injuries (16.8% vs 13.0% vs 7.8%, P < .001) when compared to Hispanic and white patients, correspondingly. Over the study period, there was increasing use of endovascular and decreasing open surgical procedures for treatment of arterial trauma. This finding was similar across all groups studied. In multivariable analysis, black race was found to be associated with higher mortality compared to white for both penetrating (odds ratio [OR] 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33-1.75, P < .001) and blunt (OR 1.27 95%CI 1.09-1.47, P = .002) arterial trauma.


CONCLUSIONS
Even after adjusting for potential confounders, minority patients had increased odds of mortality following arterial trauma compared to their white counterparts. Further studies are needed to understand and to eliminate these observed disparities in outcome.
Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA cmoreiraMD@gmail.com.
Carla C
CC
Moreira
Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Alik
A
Farber
Biostatistics Department, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Denis
D
Rybin
Biostatistics Department, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Gheorghe
G
Doros
Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Jeffrey
J
Kalish
Section of Cardiology, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Robert T
RT
Eberhardt
Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Jeffrey J
JJ
Siracuse
Section of Cardiology, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Naomi M
NM
Hamburg
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D001158:Arteries / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D057772:Vascular System Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D044465:White People; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
arterial trauma; endovascular; trauma; vascular trauma