Timing of femoral shaft fracture fixation following major trauma: A retrospective cohort study of United States trauma centers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Femoral shaft fractures are common in major trauma. Early definitive fixation, within 24 hours, is feasible in most patients and is associated with improved outcomes. Nonetheless, variability might exist between trauma centers in timeliness of fixation. Such variability could impact outcomes and would therefore represent a target for quality improvement. We evaluated variability in delayed fixation (≥24 hours) between trauma centers participating in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) and measured the resultant association with important clinical outcomes at the hospital level.

Methods and findings

A retrospective cohort study was performed using data derived from the ACS TQIP database. Adults with severe injury who und

SUBMITTER: Byrne JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5497944 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature