Table 1. Baseline characteristics, injury mechanisms, and clinical outcomes of patients with rib fractures receiving regional anaesthesia with systemic analgesia or systemic analgesia alone.
ACP: Advanced clinical practitioner; COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DNACPR: Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation; RA: Regional anaesthesia; RFS: Rockwood Frailty Score; RTC: Road traffic collision.
Note: Values are presented as n (%), mean (SD), or median (IQR), as appropriate. p-values represent between-group comparisons.
| Characteristic | Total (N=682) | RA and systemic analgesia (n=126) | Systemic analgesia only (n=556) | p value | Statistical test, statistic, and effect size |
| Demographics | |||||
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 69 (17.3) | 69 (16.0) | 69 (17.6) | 0.99 | Independent-samples Student’s t-test; t(680)=0.013; Cohen’s d=0.001 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 413 (61) | 77 (61) | 336 (60) | 0.888 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=0.020; Cramér’s V=0.005 |
| DNACPR, n (%) | 112 (16) | 17 (14) | 95 (17) | 0.325 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=0.967; Cramér’s V=0.038 |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | |||||
| Hypertension | 281 (41) | 57 (45) | 224 (40) | 0.308 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=1.039; Cramér’s V=0.039 |
| Diabetes | 106 (16) | 16 (13) | 90 (16) | 0.329 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=0.952; Cramér’s V=0.037 |
| Osteoporosis | 85 (13) | 18 (14) | 67 (12) | 0.493 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=0.471; Cramér’s V=0.026 |
| Cancer | 89 (13) | 13 (10) | 76 (14) | 0.313 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=1.017; Cramér’s V=0.039 |
| COPD | 93 (14) | 22 (17) | 71 (13) | 0.166 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=1.919; Cramér’s V=0.053 |
| Obstructive sleep apnoea | 12 (2) | 2 (2) | 10 (2) | 1 | Fisher’s exact test; OR=0.88 (95% CI, 0.09-4.21) |
| Falls within last 6 months, n (%) | 195 (29) | 23 (18) | 172 (31) | 0.004 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=8.091; Cramér’s V=0.109 |
| Mechanism of injury, n (%) | |||||
| Fall from standing | 280 (41) | 53 (42) | 227 (40) | 0.32 | Pearson’s χ² test (overall); χ²(7)=8.141; Cramér’s V=0.109 |
| Fall from height >1 metre | 161 (24) | 32 (25) | 129 (23) | ||
| Fall from sitting/lying | 20 (3) | 4 (3) | 16 (3) | ||
| RTC <30 mph | 53 (8) | 13 (10) | 40 (7) | ||
| RTC >30 mph | 77 (11) | 15 (12) | 62 (11) | ||
| Cardiac arrest | 18 (3) | 0 (0) | 18 (3) | ||
| Assault | 17 (3) | 1 (1) | 16 (3) | ||
| Other | 56 (8) | 8 (6) | 48 (9) | ||
| Rockwood Frailty Score, median (IQR) | |||||
| On admission | 3 (2-5) | 3 (1-4) | 3 (2-5) | 0.03 | Mann-Whitney U test |
| At discharge | 4 (2-6) | 4 (2-6) | 4 (2-6) | 0.23 | Mann-Whitney U test |
| Presentation characteristics, n (%) | |||||
| Weekday admission | 482 (71) | 86 (68) | 396 (71) | 0.509 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=0.437; Cramér’s V=0.025 |
| Weekend admission | 200 (29) | 40 (32) | 160 (29) | ||
| Admission 0800-2000 | 451 (66) | 86 (68) | 365 (66) | 0.577 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=0.312; Cramér’s V=0.021 |
| Admission 2000-0800 | 231 (34) | 40 (32) | 191 (34) | ||
| Trauma call | 259 (38) | 54 (43) | 205 (37) | 0.211 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=1.563; Cramér’s V=0.048 |
| Grade of initial clinician, n (%) | |||||
| ACP | 15 (2) | 3 (2) | 12 (2) | 0.984 | Pearson’s χ² test (overall); χ²(3)=0.161; Cramér’s V=0.015 |
| Junior doctor | 177 (26) | 31 (25) | 146 (26) | ||
| Registrar/ST4 and above | 405 (59) | 76 (60) | 329 (59) | ||
| Consultant | 85 (12) | 16 (13) | 69 (12) | ||
| Outcomes | |||||
| Lower respiratory tract infection, n (%) | 107 (16) | 19 (15) | 88 (16) | 0.835 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=0.043; Cramér’s V=0.008 |
| Hyponatraemia, n (%) | 26 (4) | 3 (2) | 23 (4) | 0.448 | Fisher’s exact test; OR=0.57 (95% CI, 0.11-1.92) |
| Delirium, n (%) | 56 (8) | 17 (14) | 39 (7) | 0.017 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=5.719; Cramér’s V=0.092 |
| Constipation, n (%) | 67 (10) | 17 (14) | 50 (9) | 0.126 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=2.347; Cramér’s V=0.059 |
| Length of stay, days, median (IQR) | 6 (4-13) | 9 (6-14) | 6 (3-12) | <0.001 | Mann-Whitney U test; U=26,200; rank-biserial r=0.252 |
| Mortality, n (%) | 68 (10) | 10 (7.9) | 58 (10.4) | 0.399 | Pearson’s χ² test; χ²(1)=0.712; Cramér’s V=0.032 |