Few Trauma Patients Meeting Guideline Criteria for Transfer Are Transferred

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma has published guidelines for consideration of transfer for trauma patients initially seen at nontertiary trauma centers, but few patients meeting the criteria are transferred. These authors used the National Trauma Data Bank to identify factors associated with nontransfer.

Among more than 4 million patient visits from 2007 to 2012, roughly 475,500 patients were initially seen at nontertiary centers (level III, IV, V, or non–trauma centers) and 96,500 met criteria for transfer to a higher level of care. Only 19,400 patients (20%) were transferred. Hospital factors associated with nontransfer included more resources (beds, trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons), university affiliation, …