Journal of Trauma and Injury

Original Articles

National utilization of rib fracture fixation in the geriatric population in the United States: Jennifer M. Brewer, Leah Aakjar, Kelsey Sullivan, Vijay Jayaraman, Manuel Moutinho, Elan Jeremitsky, Andrew R. Doben; J Trauma Inj. 2022;35(3):173-180. Published online May 31, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.20408/jti.2021.0076

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Purpose
The use of surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) has steadily increased over the past decade. Recent literature suggests that a larger population may benefit from SSRF, and that the geriatric population—as the highest-risk population—may receive the greatest improvement from these interventions. We sought to determine the overall utilization of SSRF in the United States.
Methods
The National Trauma Database was analyzed between 2016 and 2017. The inclusion criteria were all patients ≥65 years old with rib fractures. We further stratified these patients according to age (65–79 vs. ≥80 years old), the presence of coding for flail chest, three or more rib fractures, and intervention (surgical vs. nonoperative management). The main outcomes were surgical interventions, mortality, pneumonia, length of stay, intensive care unit length of stay, ventilator use, and tracheostomy.
Results
Overall, 93,638 patients were identified. SSRF was performed in 992 patients. Patients who underwent SSRF had improved mortality in the 65 to 79 age group, regardless of the number of ribs fractured. We identified 92,637 patients in the age group of 65 to 79 years old who did not undergo SSRF. This represents an additional 20,000 patients annually who may benefit from SSRF.
Conclusions
By conservative standards and the well-established Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma clinical practice guidelines, SSRF is underutilized. Our data suggest that SSRF may be very beneficial for the geriatric population, specifically those aged 65 to 79 years with any rib fractures. We hypothesize that roughly 20,000 additional cases will meet the inclusion criteria for SSRF each year. It is therefore imperative that we train acute care surgeons in this skill set.

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Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Incidence of adult rib fracture injuries and changing hospitalization practice patterns: a 10-year analysis
Sergio M. Navarro, Rafat H. Solaiman, Jilun Zhang, Ilitch Diaz-Gutierrez, Christopher Tignanelli, James V. Harmon
European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery.2024;[Epub] CrossRef

The Influence of the Regional Weather in Geriatric Trauma: Jung Ho Kim, Byung Soo Do, Sam Beom Lee, Sung Hoon Lee, Jong Won Si, Jae Young Lee, Oh Lyong Kim; J Korean Soc Traumatol. 2006;19(2):97-104.

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Abstract PDF: PURPOSE
Many factors influence the occurrence and severity of geriatric trauma, and regional weather is regarded as one factor that influences geriatric trauma. In this study, to predict the type, severity, and incidence of geriatric trauma patient, we analyzed the influence of regional weather on geriatric trauma.
METHODS
The subjects of our investigation were trauma patients over sixty-five years of age who visited the Emergency Department (ED) of Yeungnam University Hospital during a one-year period. We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of 436 geriatric trauma patients, and the data were analyzed by using SPSS 12.0 for Window. The weather was based on data from the Korea Meteorological Administration.
RESULTS
The average age was 72.8 years old, and the ratio of males to females was 1:1.1. The mean spell out ISS was 10.8, and no difference was found between males and females. Slips were the most common cause of trauma. The largest numbers of aged trauma patients, 46, visited the ED in May, and the smallest number of such patients, 24, visited the ED in December. In addition to, summer saw the largest number of aged trauma patients. The type of trauma, the Injury Severity Score, and the number of patients had no relationship with season. On sunny days, the ISS was larger in patients who had hypotension and who had tachycardia. On rainy day, the ISS was larger in male patients and cultivator accident patients. The number of patients was larger on partly cloudy days.
CONCLUSION
In spring and summer and on partly cloudy days, we must be prepared to treat aged traumatized patients in the E.D. On rainy days, visual sensation, tactual sense, and acoustic sense must be closely examined. In addition,on rainy day, aged male traumatized patients or cultivator accident patients must to be closely observation.; Summary

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