01 | 26 | 2008 Posted By Regan Zambri & Long

Hospital Trauma Level Designation Correlated with Improved Survival Rates

Patient death rates appear to fall when hospital trauma level designations are upgraded, according to new research published in Archives of Surgery, an archive journal of the American Medical Association.  U.S. trauma centers are classified and accredited by the American College of Surgeons, which designates levels according to nurse and surgeon availability, medical practice protocols implemented in the hospital, and research.  The most advanced classification for a trauma center in the U.S. is Level 1.

Research has historically shown that overall, patient survival rates and healthcare outcomes are better at Level 1 trauma centers than at trauma centers with lower level designations, or non-trauma centers.  This latest study -- a retrospective cohort study of patients admitted to a community hospital trauma center before and after its trauma level designation was upgraded -- tends to support that trend.

Researchers reviewed the cases of more than 17,000 patients admitted to a Colorado trauma center between 1998 and 2007 and compared the death rates of patients admitted prior to the level designation change and then following the change.  After adjusting statistically for factors such as age, sex, injury severity and other considerations, researchers were able to determine that during the period at which the hospital was classified as a Level 2 trauma center, 3.48% of patients admitted died in the hospital.  After its reclassification as a Level 1 center, the death rate fell to 2.5%.  Among the most severely injured patients, death rates fell from 14.11% at Level 2 status to only 8.99% after the change in designation to Level 1. 

Authors of the study suggest that changing emergency protocols to triage severely injured patients to the available trauma center with Level 1 designation could significantly reduce the mortality of trauma patients.

Previously on the DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog, we have posted articles related to:

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