Table 4.
Complications in EAC patients treated within 36 h versus later. Comparison is made with a previously described cohort of patients with the same types of fractures managed at the same trauma center
| All EAC patients (n = 335) | EAC treated ≤ 36 h (n = 269) | EAC treated >36 h (n = 66) | Historical comparison group (n = 1443) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any complication | 66 patients (19.7 %) with 90 complications | 44 patients (16.3 %) with 57 complications | 22 patients (33.3 %) with 32 complications* | 319 patients (22.1 %) with 354 complications |
| Pneumonia | 31 (9.3 %) | 22 (8.2 %) | 9 (14 %) | 118 (8.2 %) |
| DVT | 6 (1.8 %) | 6 (2.2 %) | 0 | 92 (6.4 %) |
| PE | 8 (2.4 %) | 7 (2.6 %) | 1 (1.5 %) | 22 (1.5 %) |
| ARDS | 5 (1.5 %) | 4 (1.5 %) | 1 (1.5 %) | 33 (2.3 %) |
| ARF | 6 (1.8 %) | 1 (0.37 %) | 5 (7.6 %)* | 24 (1.7 %) |
| MOF | 2 (0.60 %) | 1 (0.37 %) | 1 (1.5 %) | 5 (0.35 %) |
| Infection | 9 (2.7 %) | 6 (2.2 %) | 3 (4.5 %)* | 12 (0.83 %) |
| Sepsis | 18 (5.4 %) | 6 (2.2 %) | 12 (18 %)* | 33 (2.3 %) |
| Death | 5 (1.5 %) | 4 (1.5 %) | 1 (1.5 %) | 15 (1.0 %) |
*Denotes statistical significance versus patients treated within 36 h, p < 0.01 in all cases