Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of patients in the DCO and ETC groups–injuries and prehospital care
| Parameter | Damage control n = 8199 | Early total care n = 4370 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Male gender | 70.0% (5786) | 69.0% (3002) | 0.027 |
| Age (in years) | 44.8 (SD 19.7) | 47.2 (SD 21.2) | < 0.001 |
| Mechanism of trauma | |||
| Penetrating trauma | 2.8% (222) | 1.5% (64) | < 0.001 |
| Cause of injury | < 0.001 | ||
| Road traffic accident (car/truck) | 31.5% (2549) | 29.2% (1258) | |
| Road traffic accident (motorcycle) | 20.6% (1662) | 16.4% (708) | |
| Road traffic accident (bicycle) | 5.0% (402) | 5.6% (241) | |
| Road traffic accident (pedestrian) | 11.8% (951) | 9.8% (424) | |
| Fall from > 3 m | 21.6% (1746) | 23.6% (1017) | |
| Fall from < 3 m | 3.3% (263) | 9.7% (416) | |
| Injuries | |||
| Injury Severity Score (ISS) | 30.5 (SD 12.3) | 25.9 (9.6) | < 0.001 |
| Number of injuries | 7.5 (SD 3.5) | 6.3 (SD 1.9) | < 0.001 |
| Head injury (AIS 3 +) | 34.9% (2863) | 35.2% (1540) | 0.72 |
| Thoracic trauma (AIS 3 +) | 63.7% (5224) | 60.5% (2642) | < 0.001 |
| Abdominal trauma (AIS 3 +) | 23.5% (1923) | 16.1% (704) | < 0.001 |
| Injury to an upper extremity (AIS 2 +) | 53.5% (4383) | 58.7% (2566) | < 0.001 |
| Injury to a lower extremity (without pelvis, AIS 2 +) | 72.4% (5934) | 53.5% (2339) | < 0.001 |
| Stable pelvic injury (AIS 2) | 10.1% (824) | 12.6% (551) | < 0.001 |
| Unstable pelvic injury (AIS 3–5) | 41.0% (3360) | 25.9% (1132) | |
| Femur fracture | 41.0% (3363) | 27.8% (1217) | < 0.001 |
| Multiple extremity fractures | 59.3% (4866) | 37,3% (1628) | < 0.001 |
| Prehospital physiology and treatment | |||
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 118 (32) | 126 (30) | < 0.001 |
| Shock (BP ≤ 90 mmHg) | 21.0% (1535) | 12.1% (478) | < 0.001 |
| Shock on arrival | 20.5% (1577) | 10.8% (441) | < 0.001 |
| Glasgow Coma Scale (score) | 11.7 (4.4) | 12.6 (3.8) | < 0.001 |
| Unconsciousness (GCS < 9) | 23.7% (1831) | 16.3% (669) | < 0.001 |
| Fluid administration > 1000 mL | 36.9% (3029) | 22.3% (976) | < 0.001 |
| Intubation | 50.8% (4118) | 34.0% (1462) | < 0.001 |
| Catecholamine therapy | 14.1% (1140) | 6.8% (294) | < 0.001 |
| Care | |||
| Receiving hospital/trauma centre | < 0.001 | ||
| Level 1 (supraregional) | 88.8% (7277) | 84.1% (3676) | |
| Level 2 (regional) | 10.2% (833) | 13.5% (590) | |
| Level 3 (local) | 1.1% (89) | 2.4% (104) | |
| Prehospital rescue time (in minutes) | 70.9 (SD 27.9) | 68.7 (SD 27.7) | < 0.001 |
| Admission in the on-call setting (4:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.) | 67.9% (5517) | 64.6% (2805) | < 0.001 |