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Self harm is an independent predictor of mortality in trauma and burns patients admitted to ICU
Injury, 07/27/2012
Varley J et al. – The study is the first paper in the literature to describe an increased the risk of death within a group of patients admitted to a trauma and burns Intensive Care Unit (ICU) following deliberate self–harm.
Methods- The regional trauma database was interrogated to produce two datasets that included all adult trauma patients admitted to the Alfred Intensive Care Unit between 01/07/2002 and 30/06/2007.
- The first included patients that sustained intentional injuries, the second comprised un–intentional injuries and acted as a control group.
- Logistic regression was used to model factors associated with mortality.
- Intentionally injured patients made up 4.17% of the total burns, blunt and penetrating trauma admissions to the Alfred ICU over the five–year study period.
- There was a trend towards higher mortality overall and in all subgroups of patients with intentional injuries when compared to those with un–intentional mechanisms of injury.
- After adjusting for injury severity and age, a mechanism of injury involving intentional injury was independently associated with a doubling of the odds of death.