Early and Rapid Diagnosis with Multislice CT Reduces Lethality in Trauma Patients Requiring Intensive Care: Findings of a Prospective Study

Abstract

Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate if short diagnostic times by MSCT have an influence on lethal outcomes. Methods. In three different patient populations, hospital mortality was examined. Group 1: retrospective data derived from conventional diagnostic methods in the trauma room between 2002 and 2003; group 2: data from the same centre taken prospectively between 2004 and 2010 after modification of the trauma room algorithm; group 3: a reference population from the TraumaRegister DGU (TR-DGU) from 2004 to 2010. Injury severity was determined using the ISS and lethality was predicted on the basis of the RISC. Results. At the singular centre, data from 943 polytraumatised patients requiring intensive care between 2002 and 2010 were examined. With the new trauma room algorithm, lethality was likewise significantly lower (9.1% versus 15%; P<0.05) compared to the population from 2002 to 2003, with a comparable ISS (28.5 versus 30.2). The ISS (28.5) was comparable with the TR-DGU (24.9) population and lethality was significantly lower. Conclusion. Early diagnostic approaches using MSCT during the first minutes of trauma room treatment, as an integral part of a stringently timed, highly structured concept, have been found to reduce lethality as compared to the TR-DGU and our own retrospective historical data. This trial is registered with DRKS00005055; TR-DGU-Projekt-ID: 2009-005.