Outcomes of trauma patients: direct transport versus transfer after stabilisation at another hospital

BackgroundIn this study, we attempted to identify differences in the outcomes of patients with severe trauma who were directly transported to our hospital, and those who were stabilised initially at other hospitals in south-central Taiwan.MethodsWe performed a prospective observational study to review the records of 231 patients with major trauma (Injury Severity Scores (ISS) >15) who visited our hospital's emergency department from January 2010 to December 2010. Among these patients, 75 were referred from other hospitals. Logistic regression was performed to assess the effects of transfer on mortality.ResultsPatients in the transfer group had a shorter interval between trauma and admission to the first hospital (25.3 min vs. 28.1 min), and the average interval between the two hospital arrivals was 138.3 min. Transfer from another hospital was not significantly correlated with mortality in this study (odds ratio: 1.124, 95% confidence interval: 0.276–4.578).ConclusionIn trauma patients with ISS > 15, there is no difference in mortality between those transferred from another hospital after initial stabilisation and those who visited our emergency department directly.