• Brent S Izu, Mark Ryan, Ronald J Markert, A Peter Ekeh, and Mary C McCarthy.
• Division of Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, OH 45409, USA. izu@wright.edu
• Surgery. 2009 Oct 1; 146 (4): 787-91; discussion 791-3.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to assess the impact of care guidelines for patients with isolated blunt splenic trauma on length of stay (LOS) and patient charges.MethodsWe conducted a review of the hospital trauma registry and identified patients admitted with blunt splenic injury from 2000 to 2007. Splenic injury guidelines were initiated in November 2004. Patients with other major injuries were excluded. Patients were grouped according to their American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) splenic injury grade, I-V. Hospital LOS, intensive care unit (ICU) LOS, and patient charges before and after the guidelines were compared.ResultsWe identified 137 patients with isolated splenic injuries. Sixty-three patients were admitted before and 70 patients after implementation of the guidelines. ICU and hospital LOS were significantly decreased after the guidelines (ICU LOS, 1.35 days before, 0.80 after [P < .01]; and hospital LOS, 4.17 before, 3.27 after [P < .01]). When grouped by AAST grade, grade II injuries had a decrease in hospital LOS (4.5 before vs 2.29 after; P < .01) and ICU LOS (1.43 before vs 0.29 after; P < .01). Adjusted hospital charges showed no significant increase overall after the guideline implementation (mean hospital charges before $23,047 vs after, $24,116; P = .62).ConclusionImplementing guidelines for the observation of blunt splenic injury decreased the overall hospital LOS and ICU LOS at our institution, but hospital charges remained the same. Trauma programs should institute splenic injury guidelines to reduce resources needed for the care of isolated splenic injuries.

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