• Uwe Hamsen, Christian Waydhas, Jörg Bayer, Sebastian Wutzler, Klemens Horst, Frank Hildebrand, and Trauma Section of the German Interdisciplinary Association of Critical Care, Emergency Medicine (DIVI).
• Department of General and Trauma Surgery, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Buerkle-de-la-Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Germany. uwe.hamsen@bergmannsheil.de.
• Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2022 Apr 1; 48 (2): 827-831.

PurposeIn January and February 2021, about 4000 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive patients were treated daily in German intensive care units (ICUs). The number of SARS-CoV-2-positive ICU patients with trauma, however, is not known and neither whether the trauma itself or COVID-19 causes the critical illness.MethodsA total of 173 German ICUs, representing 3068 ICU beds, participated in a survey developed by the Trauma Section of the German Interdisciplinary Association of Intensive Care Medicine (DIVI).ResultsParticipating ICUs reported an overall 1-day prevalence of 20 and an overall 7-day prevalence of 35 SARS-CoV-2-positive trauma patients in the ICU. Critical illness was triggered by trauma alone in 50% of cases and by the combination of trauma and COVID-19 in 49% of cases; 70% of patients were older than 65 years and suffered from a single injury, predominantly proximal femur fractures. The distribution of patients was comparable regarding the level of care of the trauma centre (local, regional, and supra-regional).ConclusionThe proportion of trauma patients of all SARS-CoV-2-positive critically ill patients is small (~ 1%) but relevant. There is no concentration of these patients at Level 1 trauma centres. However, the traumatic insult is the most relevant cause for ICU treatment in most of these patients. Regarding a new wave of the pandemic, adequate trauma dedicated resources and perioperative structures and expertise have to be provided for COVID-19 trauma patients.© 2021. The Author(s).

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