The Effect of a Multidisciplinary Trauma Team Leader Paradigm at a Tertiary Trauma Center: 10-Year Experience

To illustrate the impact of the implementation of a multidisciplinary TTL program in 2005 on the mortality of trauma patients in a level 1 trauma center as well as admission rates and length of stay.

Retrospective observational study of all trauma patients included in the provincial trauma database at the Montreal General Hospital between 1998 and 2015. The primary outcome studied was in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcomes studied were hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) rates of admission and hospital and ICU length of stay.

24,107 patients were included. We observed a statistically significant reduction in mortality of 1.25% or a relative reduction of 16% (p value = 0.0058; rate ratio 0.844 (95% CI 0.747-0.952)). ICU admissions were also significantly reduced where we observed a statistically significant absolute reduction of 4.46% or a relative reduction of 14% (p value = 8.38 × 10^-7; rate ratio 0.859 (95% CI 0.808-0.912)). The ICU length of stay was increased by 0.91 days or 19.03% (p value = 0.016 (95% CI 0.167-1.655)). There was no observed change in overall length of stay (13.97 days pre-TTL and 12.91 post-TTL (p value = 0.13; estimate -1.053 (95% CI -2.424-0.318))).

This article suggests that multidisciplinary TTL model may be beneficial in the care of trauma patients. Further subgroup analysis may help determine which patients could benefit more.