Regionale traumaregistratie

Objective

To examine trauma registry data to obtain an insight into the characteristics of hospitalized injured patients, the allocation of these patients to hospitals and the quality of trauma care.

Design

Descriptive.

Method

Data from the regional trauma registry on 15,152 trauma patients admitted to the Trauma Centre West-Netherlands (TCWN) and 9 regional hospitals between 2004-2006 were analysed. A comparison was made between the characteristics of the TCWN patients and those in 9 regional hospitals. The allocation of patients transported by ambulance services to TCWN and the regional hospitals and the relation of the allocation to their injury severity were examined. To measure the effect of care a comparison was made between the number of patients surviving with the expected number of survivors calculated using prediction models from the United States (US), England and Wales (UK).

Results

The regional hospitals managed 62% of the patients. The TCWN patients were more severely injured. The ambulance services transported 78% of the polytrauma patients and the patients with serious head injuries to the TCWN. The number of patients surviving did not differ from the expected number of survivors calculated with the US data. The survival was better than expected according to the UK standards.

Conclusion

The regional trauma registry proved a valuable tool for gaining an insight into the epidemiology of injured patients as well as for the evaluation of trauma care. In the region of TCWN the management of major trauma patients was concentrated at the trauma centre. The data suggest that the quality of trauma care in this region is comparable to that in the US, England and Wales.