Background: Missing data is a common problem for trauma registries. It has an impact on the validity of using trauma registries to inform improvements in trauma care. How missing data is dealt with, including at the analysis stage, can influence the evaluation of trauma system performance.
Aim: This study aims to determine, for the Australia-New Zealand Trauma Registry, the level and determinants of data completeness across all variables.
Methods: The Australia New Zealand Trauma Registry (ANZTR) is a collaboration of 27 Australian and seven New Zealand major trauma centres, collecting 90-data points (outlined in the bi-national trauma minimum dataset) on patients admitted to these centres who die after injury and/or sustain major trauma (defined as an injury severity score (ISS) >12). The completeness (i.e. the extent to which all necessary data have been submitted on registered cases) was examined for each data point over the period 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023.
Results: 30 fields had more than 90% completion. Fields with higher rates of completion included demographics, AIS injury codes and injury severity, discharge destination, and observations on arrival at definitive care. Some fields for example blood alcohol, trauma callout which are listed as quality indicators had low levels of completion. Completion rates varied between jurisdictions
Outcomes: Having a better understanding of the completeness of ANZTR data and comparing data imputation methods will benefit future research and quality improvement initiatives.