title: Fact or Fiction: Is Orthopedic Follow-Up Worse for Patients Who Sustain Penetrating Trauma?
abstract: Commonly accepted dogma is that patients with a long bone fracture due to a penetrating injury (gunshot wound) are less likely to follow up than blunt trauma patients. An institutional trauma database from a Level 1 academic trauma center was utilized to include all patients with long bone fractures from penetrating trauma from 2006-2009 (N = 132). Demographically matched blunt trauma patients with long bone fractures were included as a comparison group (N = 104). The medical records of these 236 patients were reviewed to observe their follow-up at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. There was no statistically significant difference (P = 0.736) between the penetrating and blunt trauma patients in terms of their follow-up within 1 year from time of injury. At the 1 year end point 103/132 (78%) of the penetrating group and 83/104 (80%) of the blunt group were lost to follow-up. The results of this study call into question the routine exclusion of penetrating trauma patients from research studies, as well as encourage further research to improve patient retention.
authors.forename: Chad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hiatt
authors.affiliation: Eskenazi Health, and Professor and Program Director, Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics, Indianapolis, IN. bmullis@iupui.edu.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mullis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D059012:Lost to Follow-Up; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult