Performing Trauma Surgery in the Emergency Room Impacts the Timeliness of Surgery

Our institution has emergency rooms (ERs) with an operating room (OR) setup, which enables surgeons to perform thoracotomy and/or laparotomy for trauma patients without transferring patients to the OR. We hypothesized that the ERs with an OR setup improve the timeliness of surgery for trauma patients.

Data were reviewed from trauma patients who underwent emergency surgeries performed by our acute care surgery group from April 2013 to June 2017. Patients' demographics, diagnoses, location of the operation (ER versus regular OR), type of operation, time from admission to operation, and perioperative outcomes including in-hospital mortality were analyzed. These data were compared between patients who underwent surgery in the ER versus the OR.

There were 105 trauma patients who met the inclusion criteria. Of these 105 patients, 50 underwent surgery in the ER (47.6%, ER group), whereas 55 underwent surgery in the OR (52.4%, OR group). Compared with the OR group, the ER group had a shorter time from admission to operation (median 43 min [range 3-105 min] versus 109 min [range 15-1340 min], P < 0.04), and higher in-hospital mortality rate (38.2% versus 0%, P < 0.01).

An ER with an OR setup can enable surgery to be started sooner. Compared with the OR group, patients who underwent surgery performed in the ER tended to be in a more serious condition, and were thus likely to have a higher mortality rate. Further study is warranted to determine which patients would benefit best from this approach.