Don’t Delay Transfer of Trauma Patients to Specialty Centers

Obtaining CT scans at the primary hospital delayed transfer to a trauma center by an average of 90 minutes, and the CT results did not affect patient management.

Trauma systems improve survival. A fundamental principle of trauma care is that rapid transport of patients to appropriate facilities allows timely identification and treatment of life-threatening injuries. To determine whether obtaining a computed tomography (CT) scan before transfer affects length of stay in the initial hospital, researchers reviewed medical records of 249 consecutive adult trauma patients who were transferred to a regional trauma center in Canada during a 2-year period.

About one third of patients underwent CT before transfer. Mean injury severity scores were similar between patients who did and did not undergo CT. In no case was the CT result used to determine whether to transfer a patient, and in no case did it lead to …

Reviewing Author

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Editorial boardsKoenig & Schultz's Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles and Practices

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Editorial boardsKoenig & Schultz's Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles and Practices