J Natl Med Assoc
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The records of 163 penetrating trauma patients who required surgery in a 36-month period between 1988 and 1990 were reviewed. Those patients with head trauma were excluded. Thirty patients were identified as having: similar Injury Severity Scores (ISS), received at least 8 L of crystalloid, and received at least 4 units of packed red blood cells during the first 24 hours after admission. ⋯ Nonsurvivors also had lower hemoglobin levels (7.84 +/- 1 versus 9.1 +/- 2.3) and platelet counts (134.2 +/- 14.1 versus 188.6 +/- 6.3) than survivors. In addition, nonsurvivors demonstrated greater incidence of three major risk factors than did the survivors: hypothermia (75% versus 41%), acidosis (100% versus 27%), and coagulopathy (62% versus 4.5%). Therapeutic measures to limit these risk factors for increased mortality may maximize the chance of survival in these patients.