Pediatric trauma deaths : A three-part analysis from a nonacademic trauma center

A three-part analysis was undertaken to assess pediatric trauma mortality in a nonacademic Level II trauma center at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Part I was a comparison of Parkview trauma registry data collected from 1999 through 2003 with those of pediatric and adult trauma centers in Pennsylvania. The same methodology used in Pennsylvania was used for the initial evaluation of pediatric deaths from trauma in our trauma center. Part II was a formal in-depth analysis of all individual pediatric deaths as well as surgical cases with head, spleen, and liver injuries from the same time frame. Part III proposes a new methodology to calculate a risk-adjusted mortality rate based on the TRISS model for the evaluation of a trauma system. The use of specific mortality and surgical intervention rates was not an accurate reflection of trauma center outcome. The proposed risk-adjusted mortality rate calculation is perhaps an effective outcome measure to assess patient care in a trauma system.