PURPOSE: To prepare for future possible communicable disease epidemics/pandemics, health care providers should know how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced injured patients. This study aimed to compare epidemiologic features, outcomes, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of trauma patients admitted to a university-affiliated hospital before and during the pandemic. METHODS: This retrospective study was performed on data from the National Trauma Registry of Iran. All injured patients admitted to the hospital from July 25, 2016 to March 10, 2021 were included in the study. The patients were excluded if they had hospital length of stay less than 24 h. The injury outcomes, trauma mechanisms, and therapeutic and diagnostic procedures of the 2 periods: before (from July 25, 2016 to February 18, 2020) and during (from February 19, 2020 to March 10, 2021) COVID-19 pandemic were compared. All analyses were performed using STATA version 14.0 software (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX). RESULTS: Totally, 5014 patients were included in the registry. Of them, 773 (15.4%) were registered after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic on February 19, 2020, while 4241 were registered before that. Gender, education level, and cause of injury were significantly different among the patients before and after the beginning of the pandemic (p < 0.001). In the ≤ 15 years and ≥ 65 years age groups, injuries decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.001). The frequency of intensive care unit (ICU) admission decreased from 694 (16.4%) to 88 (11.4%) (p < 0.001). The mean length of stay at the hospital (days) and at the ICU (days) declined as follow: 8.3 (SD = 17.2) vs. 5.5 (SD = 6.1), p < 0.001 and 7.5 (SD = 11.5) vs. 4.5 (SD = 6.3), p < 0.022. The frequency of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures before and during the pandemic was as follows, respectively: ultrasonography 905 (21.3%) vs. 417 (53.9%) (p < 0.001), echocardiography 313 (7.4%) vs. 107 (13.8%) (p < 0.001), angiography 1597 (37.7%) vs. 534 (69.1%) (p < 0.001), MRI 166 (3.9%) vs. 51 (6.6%) (p < 0.001), surgery 3407 (80.3%) vs. 654 (84.6%) (p < 0.001), and internal/external fixation 1215 (28.6%) vs. 336 (43.5%) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION The pandemic affected the epidemiology of traumatic patients in terms of gender, age, educational level, and trauma mechanism. It changed the outcomes of injured patients: ICU admission, length of stay at the hospital and ICU decreased. The patients received more diagnostic and therapeutic procedures during the pandemic. To be more precise, more research is needed on the details.
Humans ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Pandemics ; Retrospective Studies ; Iran/epidemiology* ; Intensive Care Units ; Registries ; Trauma Centers ; COVID-19 Testing

PURPOSE: To identify risk factors for developing pressure ulcers (PUs) in the acute care period of traumatic spinal fracture patients with or without spinal cord injuries (SCIs). METHODS: Data were collected prospectively in participating the National Spinal column/Cord Injury Registry of Iran (NSCIR-IR) from individuals with traumatic spinal fractures with or without SCIs, inclusive of the hospital stay from admission to discharge. Trained nursing staff examined the patients for the presence of PUs every 8 h during their hospital stay. The presence and grade of PUs were assessed according to the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel classification. In addition to PU, following data were also extracted from the NSCIR-IR datasets during the period of 2015 - 2021: age, sex, Glasgow coma scale score at admission, having SCIs, marital status, surgery for a spinal fracture, American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (AIS), urinary incontinence, level of education, admitted center, length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), hypertension, respiratory diseases, consumption of cigarettes, diabetes mellitus and length of stay in the hospital. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Altogether 2785 participants with traumatic spinal fractures were included. Among them, 87 (3.1%) developed PU during their hospital stay and 392 (14.1%) had SCIs. In the SCI population, 63 (16.1%) developed PU during hospital stay. Univariate logistic regression for the whole sample showed that marital status, having SCIs, urinary incontinence, level of education, treating center, number of days in the ICU, age, and Glasgow coma scale score were significant predictors for PUs. However, further analysis by multiple logistic regression only revealed the significant risk factors to be the treating center, marital status, having SCIs, and the number of days in the ICU. For the subgroup of individuals with SCIs, marital status, AIS, urinary incontinence, level of education, the treating center, the number of days in the ICU and the number of days in the hospital were significant predictors for PUs by univariate analysis. After adjustment in the multivariate model, the treating center, marital status (singles vs. marrieds, OR = 3.06, 95% CI: 1.55 - 6.03, p = 0.001), and number of days in the ICU (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.04 - 1.09, p < 0.001) maintained significance. CONCLUSIONS These data confirm that individuals with traumatic spinal fractures and SCIs, especially single young patients who suffer from urinary incontinence, grades A-D by AIS, prolonged ICU stay, and more extended hospitalization are at increased risk for PUs; as a result strategies to minimize PU development need further refinement.
Humans ; Spinal Fractures/etiology* ; Pressure Ulcer/complications* ; Iran/epidemiology* ; Spinal Cord Injuries/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; Spine ; Registries ; Urinary Incontinence/complications* ; Suppuration/complications*

PURPOSE: Injuries are one of the leading causes of death and lead to a high social and financial burden. Injury patterns can vary significantly among different age groups and body regions. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between mechanism of injury, patient comorbidities and severity of injuries. METHODS: The study included trauma patients from July 2016 to June 2018, who were admitted to Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The inclusion criteria were all injured patients who had at least one of the following: hospital length of stay more than 24 h, death in hospital, and transfer from the intensive care unit of another hospital. Data collection was performed using the National Trauma Registry of Iran minimum dataset. RESULTS: The most common injury mechanism was road traffic injuries (49.0%), followed by falls (25.5%). The mean age of those who fell was significantly higher in comparison with other mechanisms (p < 0.001). Severe extremity injuries occurred more often in the fall group than in the vehicle collision group (69.0% vs. 43.5%, p < 0.001). Moreover, cases of severe multiple trauma were higher amongst vehicle collisions than injuries caused by falls (27.8% vs. 12.9%, p = 0.003). CONCLUSION Comparing falls with motor vehicle collisions, patients who fell were older and sustained more extremity injuries. Patients injured by motor vehicle collision were more likely to have sustained multiple trauma than those presenting with falls. Recognition of the relationship between mechanisms and consequences of injuries may lead to more effective interventions.