Background
Injury is the leading cause of death for people aged 1-44 in Australia and 5-29 globally. Haemorrhage causing traumatic shock accounts for up to 40% of these deaths. Despite this, little is known about the burden of traumatic shock in an Australian context.
Aim
To describe the epidemiology and outcomes of early traumatic shock (ETS) in Australia.
Methods
Data was extracted from the Australia New Zealand Trauma Registry (ATR) from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2022. Variables of interest (VoI) specific to the identification, management or outcomes of ETS were identified. Rates of data completion were determined. 5 VoI with complete data (>/= 80%) specific to the identification of ETS were used to define an ETS population. Epidemiology and outcomes for patients defined as having ETS were reported.
Results
Overall data completion rates for VoI were poor. Among analysed data, patients defined as having ETS were more likely male, with a penetrating mechanism and had higher ISS. In addition, they were more likely to present with a GCS of 3-8, require assisted ventilation on arrival, go to the operating theatre or ICU from the ED, have a longer length of acute hospital stay and were more likely to die during acute admission.
Discussion
Being the first of its kind in the Australian setting, this study provides insights into both the gaps and opportunities that exist in our current approach to data collection for ETS, providing important impetus to improve data collection so quality indices and outcomes can be benchmarked at a national level.