Assessment of Pediatric Trauma Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital and Identification of Predictive Factors of Trauma Severity

Objective: The aim of our study is to present the characteristics of the trauma patients in our tertiary care hospital, to identify the risk factors that raise Injury Severity Score (ISS) and to contribute to our national data. Methods: All pediatric trauma patients admitted to our clinic between September 2007-December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Age, trauma type, trauma mechanism, transport status, fracture, transfusion requirement, number of consultations, hospital stay, intensive care stay, need for mechanical ventilation and operation were investigated. Patients were assessed in two groups: 1SS>11 (severe injury) and ISS <= 11 (minor injury). Results: Median age was 8 [4-12] in a total of 799 patients. The most common injury mechanisms were fall from heights, extravehicular traffic accident, and bicycle accident Most of the injuries (n=667; 83.5%) were blunt. Most of the patients (n=700; 87.6%) applied directly to our hospital, and 99 of them were referred to our hospital. Associated bone fractures were detected in 75 patients (9.4%). The mean age of patients with ISS>11 was found higher (p<0.05). Patients aged 7-12 years, transferred patients, patients with multiple affected body parts had an 1SS scores less than 11 namely, they carried a higher risk of severe injury (p<0.05). The trauma mechanism did not affect the severity of the trauma. Univariate analysis revealed that male sex, transferred patients, patients with blunt trauma, or those with associated fracture have an increased tprobability of experiencing severe trauma. Conclusion: The determination of a severe trauma risk, ie a high ISS, allows for quicker and more accurate decision-making in the management of trauma patients. In addition to ISS, there are also independent factors that indicate the severity of the trauma. These groups of admitted patients should be considered as high risk patients.