Journal of trauma nursing : the official journal of the Society of Trauma Nurses
-
Observational Study
In-hospital Complications in Trauma Patients According to Injury Severity.
In-hospital complications in trauma patients are frequent and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between posttraumatic complications and the injured body region, injury and trauma severity, length of stay, and mortality in hospitalized trauma patients. This observational and retrospective study included 147 trauma patients with posttraumatic complications hospitalized in a university hospital located in São Paulo, Brazil. ⋯ There was no association between thoracic injury and cardiovascular complications, nor between types of complications and trauma severity (ISS). Patients without cardiovascular complication and those with infections had longer hospital length of stay, and mortality was higher in those with cardiovascular complications. Complication's studies in trauma patients may contribute to identify events related with poor outcome and to implement specific measures for improving quality of trauma care and patient security.
-
This quality improvement project was undertaken to improve trauma service referral compliance to an existing home-based elderly fall prevention program through the implementation of a daily management system (DMS). Operational excellence, a hospital-wide initiative, provided the foundation for improvement efforts. ⋯ Results from this project provided support for the framework set forth in DMS and PDSA improvement methodologies as a feasible option to implement quality and process improvement projects. Further study in this area is warranted.