Determining Outcomes in Nonpenetrating Trauma With qSOFA

Area of Science:

• Trauma Care
• Critical Care Medicine
• Clinical Scoring Systems

Background:

• The quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score is used to identify patients with suspected infections at high risk of adverse outcomes.
• qSOFA is calculated using respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure, and Glasgow Coma Score.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the role of the qSOFA score in predicting hospitalization outcomes for nonpenetrating trauma patients.
• To evaluate qSOFA's effectiveness in both Level 1 and Level 2 trauma centers.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of trauma registries from two institutions.
• Inclusion of adult (18+ years) and pediatric (0-17 years) nonpenetrating trauma hospitalizations between January 1, 2019, and September 30, 2021.
• Correlation of qSOFA scores with mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates.

Main Results:

• In adult patients at both institutions, higher qSOFA scores significantly correlated with increased mortality rates.
• qSOFA scores of 2 or higher were associated with increased ICU admissions in adults and, to a lesser extent, in pediatric patients.
• Pediatric patients generally exhibited low injury severity, morbidity, and mortality.

Conclusions:

• Elevated qSOFA scores are significantly associated with ICU admission and mortality in adult nonpenetrating trauma patients.
• The qSOFA score demonstrates potential utility in predicting outcomes and guiding resource allocation in trauma care.
• Further research is warranted to fully explore qSOFA's application in trauma patient management.