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Obesity and outcomes after blunt trauma
Therèse M Duane1, Tracey Dechert, Michel B Aboutanos
1Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia, USA. tmduane@vcu.edu
The Journal of Trauma
|November 14, 2006
Summary
Obese blunt trauma patients experienced similar mortality rates to non-obese patients. However, obese individuals had longer hospital stays, increasing costs. Further research is needed to optimize care for obese trauma patients.
Area of Science:
- Trauma Surgery
- Critical Care Medicine
- Obesity Research
Background:
- Obesity is a known risk factor for mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
- The impact of obesity on morbidity and mortality in blunt trauma patients requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effect of obesity on morbidity and mortality in blunt trauma patients.
- To compare outcomes between obese and non-obese blunt trauma patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study comparing obese (BMI > 30 kg/m2) and non-obese (BMI < 30 kg/m2) blunt trauma patients from January 2004 to December 2005.
- Analysis of patient demographics, morbidity, mortality, and length of hospital and ICU stays.
- Statistical analysis using Wilcoxon Rank test for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for nominal variables.
Main Results:
- A cohort of 115 obese patients was compared with 338 non-obese patients.
- Groups were similar in age, gender, mechanism of injury, and severity of injury (ISS, NISS, AIS scores).
- Overall mortality rates were similar between obese (3.5%) and non-obese (7.1%) patients (p=0.26). A subset of obese patients had longer hospital stays (p=0.055).
Conclusions:
- Obese blunt trauma patients had comparable mortality rates to non-obese patients, potentially due to minimized complications.
- Obesity was associated with longer hospital stays in a subset of patients, increasing healthcare costs.
- Strategies to facilitate discharge and minimize complications for obese trauma patients are recommended.
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