Association between Time to Emergent Surgery and Outcomes in Trauma Patients: A 10-Year Multicenter Study

Area of Science:

• Trauma Surgery
• Surgical Outcomes Research
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Inconsistent research exists on the impact of reduced time to emergent surgery for trauma patients.
• This study addresses the relationship between waiting emergent surgery time (WEST) and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between waiting emergent surgery time (WEST) and key outcomes in trauma patients.
• To evaluate the validity of the
• golden hour
• concept in trauma care.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, multicenter study utilizing data from the Tzu Chi Hospital trauma database.
• Analysis of 15,164 trauma patients.
• Primary outcomes included in-hospital mortality, ICU admission, and prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS) of ≥30 days.

Main Results:

• Median WEST was 444 minutes (IQR: 248-848 min).
• Patients who died had a shorter median WEST (240 min) than survivors (446 min, p < 0.001).
• Multivariable analysis showed no significant association between WEST and increased risk of in-hospital mortality, ICU admission, or prolonged LOS.

Conclusions:

• Findings do not support the
• golden hour
• theory in trauma care.
• No significant association was found between time to definitive surgical care and adverse outcomes in trauma patients.
• Further research may be needed to refine optimal surgical timing protocols.