Impact of Triage Systems on Time to Diagnosis and Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a potential complication from traumatic brain injury, with a 30-day mortality rate of 35-52%. Rapid diagnosis allows for earlier treatment, which impacts patient outcomes. A trauma activation (TA) is called when injury severity meets institutional criteria. The patient is immediately roomed, and a multispecialty team is present. A trauma evaluation (TE) occurs when injuries are identified after standard triage processes.

Our aim was to determine whether TA patients with ICH were diagnosed and treated more rapidly than TE patients.

This was a retrospective study of patients presenting to trauma centers within a large hospital system diagnosed with traumatic ICH between January 2018 and December 2018. Patients were categorized as TA or TE patients. The time to diagnosis was compared between groups, and additional times were evaluated, including time to imaging, computed tomography interpretation, and treatment.

A total of 294 patients were included. Groups had similar demographic characteristics and medical history; there was no difference in head Abbreviated Injury Score, Injury Severity Score, or anticoagulant use. Time to diagnosis was decreased for TA patients compared with TE patients (p < 0.0001). In addition, TA patients received treatment sooner (median 107 min) than TE patients (184.5 min) (p < 0.0001).

Diagnosis and treatment times were significantly faster in TA patients than in TE patients. Given the similarities in injury severity between groups, the increased time to treatment may be detrimental for patients. Trauma activations are a resource-heavy process, but TE delays care. These data suggest that an intermediary process may be beneficial.