A look on trauma code activation in a major trauma centre in UAE: a descriptive study

Trauma is considered to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world. This descriptive study has an emphasize on the epidemiology, mechanism and patterns of trauma, with a consideration of why trauma code was activated, and the imaging results in regard to the severity of the trauma.

A descriptive study was conducted in Al Ain Hospital over the year of 2017. Totally 886 patients were included who presented with a trauma and considered dangerous according to hospital guidelines. They underwent a full body trauma CT, and were admitted to the hospital. We looked at the mechanisms, patterns, time of the day and radiological findings. Injury severity score (ISS) and Revised trauma score (RTS) were calculated, and the cause of trauma code activation was evaluated.

The study showed that; positive imaging findings were found in 364 (41%) of patients while 522 (59%) had normal radiological tests. The principal mechanism of injury was motor vehicle accident (54.4%) followed by falls (21.4%) and pedestrian accidents (10.2%). Overall, 69.75% (618 patients) were admitted to the hospital, 22 patients (2.5 %) needed immediate interventions and 36 patients (4 %) needed ICU admission. Only 2 patients (0.25 %) died in the emergency room.

The hospital policy in activating a trauma code should be revised, with more care being paid to the mechanisms of injury and the condition of the patient, without missing any injury that could harm the patient. So, the emergency physician should be better prepared to do a detailed physical examination and weigh the risk of radiation against missing a dangerous injury.