Military trauma care in Birmingham: Observational study of care requirements and resource utilisation

Philippa C. Jackson, Mark Foster, Anton Fries, Steven L.A. Jeffery

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine is located at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB). Since 2001 all UK military casualties injured on active duty have been repatriated here for their initial treatment. This service evaluation was performed to quantify the work undertaken, with the aim of providing a snapshot of a year's military trauma work in order to inform the delivery of trauma care in both the military and civilian setting. Methods: Military patients admitted with traumatic injuries over a 12-month period were identified and the hospital notes and electronic records reviewed. Data were collected focusing on three areas - the details of the injury, information about the in-patient admission, and surgical interventions performed. Results: A total of 388 patients were used in the analysis. Median total length of stay was 10.5 days (IQR: 4-26, range: 0-137 days), and a median 6.0 days (IQR: 3.0-11.0, range: 1-49 days) was spent on intensive care by 125 patients. Surgical intervention was required for 278 (71.6%) patients, with a median of 2.0 operations (IQR: 1.0-4.0, range: 1-27) or 170 min (IQR: 90.0-570.0, range 20-4735 min) operating time per patient. 77% of these patients had their first procedure within 24 h of arrival. Improvised explosives accounted for 50.5% of injuries seen. Spearman rank correlation between New Injury Severity Score with length of stay demonstrated significant correlation (p < 0.001), with a coefficient of 0.640. A model predicting length of stay based on New Injury Severity Score was devised for patients with battle injuries. Conclusion: This report of 12 months work at UHB demonstrates the service commitment to these casualties, describing the burden of care and resource requirements for military trauma patients.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)44-49
Number of pages6
JournalInjury
Volume45
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Injury severity
  • Military trauma
  • Service provision
  • Surgical requirement
  • Trauma service

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

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