Planning for the Next Pandemic: Trauma Injuries Require Pre-COVID-19 Levels of High-Intensity Resources

Area of Science:

• Trauma surgery
• Public health preparedness
• Healthcare resource management

Background:

• Hospital systems require robust planning for surges in healthcare utilization and stress.
• Understanding trauma system resource needs is crucial for capacity planning, especially during public health crises.
• The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to healthcare delivery and resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in high-intensity resource utilization for trauma care during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
• To assess changes in operating room (OR) usage and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions for trauma patients.
• To inform trauma system planning and resource allocation during national health emergencies.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of trauma registry data from four Level I trauma centers.
• Comparison of data from 2019 (pre-COVID-19) and 2020 (initial COVID-19 months).
• Defined high-intensity resource utilization as direct emergency department (ED) disposition to the OR or ICU.

Main Results:

• No significant change was observed in the incidence of direct ED to ICU admissions (24% in 2019 vs. 23% in 2020; P = .62).
• No significant change was observed in the incidence of direct ED to OR utilization (11% in 2019 vs. 10% in 2020; P = .71).
• Trauma care resource utilization remained stable despite the pandemic's impact on healthcare systems.

Conclusions:

• Continued access to ICU beds and ORs is essential for managing traumatic injuries during national health emergencies.
• Trauma system resource needs remain consistent, even when overall trauma incidence may appear to decrease.
• Effective healthcare planning must account for the ongoing demand for specialized trauma care resources.