• Sarah Guigues, Jean Cotte, Jean-Baptiste Morvan, Henry de Lesquen, Bertrand Prunet, Mathieu Boutonnet, Nicolas Libert, Pierre Pasquier, Eric Meaudre, Julien Bordes, and Michael Cardinale.
• Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Department, Military Teaching Hospital Sainte Anne, Toulon, France.
• Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2023 Jun 1; 49 (3): 142514311425-1431.

PurposeThe study of preventable trauma deaths is one mechanism used to examine the quality of care and outcomes of a trauma system. The present study aims to define the rate of preventable (PD) and potentially preventable death (PPD) in our mature trauma center, determine its leading causes, and evaluate the evolution of this rate over the years.MethodsWe performed a retrospective observational study in the Sainte Anne Military Teaching Hospital, Toulon (Var), France. From January 2013 to December 2020, all patients with severe trauma admitted to our trauma center and who died were analyzed. An independent group of 4 experts in the management of severe trauma performed the classification of deaths using a DELPHI method.ResultsDuring the study period, 180 deaths occurred among 2642 consecutive severe trauma patients (overall mortality 6.8%). 169 deaths were analyzed, Eleven (6.5%) were considered PD, and thirty-eight (22.1%) were PPD. 69 errors were identified. The most frequent errors were in pre-hospital (excessive pre-hospital times 33.3% and inadequate management 29%). Time before surgery was considered excessive in 15.9% of cases. Over the study period, the rates of PD and PPD deaths remained stable.ConclusionPD and PPD rates are still high and do not decrease over the years in our mature trauma center. It confirms the need for progress in the management of severe trauma patients. Reducing the time to provide care seems to be the main area for improvement. Further studies will be necessary to better target the points to be improved.© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.

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