Background: Trauma co-management is a growing field within hospital medicine. While improvements in quality metrics have been documented in other co-management services, the impact of co-management of trauma patients is uncertain. This study aimed to determine whether a hospitalist trauma co-management program improves clinical outcomes. Methods: This was a pre- and post-implementation study comparing trauma [...]

Background: Surgical co-management is an up-and-coming field within Hospital Medicine, with great successes documented in the improvement in quality metrics and patient satisfaction owing to the involvement of hospitalists in peri-operative inpatient care. Currently, orthopedic and neurosurgical co-management programs are the most commonly developed partnerships. Our institution is a Level 1 regional trauma center with [...]

Background: Our institution is a Level 1 regional trauma center with a large inpatient volume. A large percentage of these patients are elderly, with the traumatic events occurring as sequelae of their age, debility or medical complications. Last year, we developed a Trauma/Acute Care Surgery Hospitalist Co-Management program, due to, in large part, the increasing [...]

Background: At our Level 1 trauma center, geriatric trauma (GT) patients are primarily managed by hospitalists with surgical consultation. This care model offloads the trauma surgical services, improving time to surgery and hospital throughput. As the number of injured GT patients rose, so did the need to address a higher complication risk, longer hospital stays, [...]

Background: Older adults presenting with trauma have worse outcomes than younger adults with similar injury severity. In 2013, the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program published guidelines that recommended geriatrics consultation (GC) for high-risk older adults. Many trauma centers implemented GC in congruence with these guidelines, but the impact on patient outcomes is [...]

Background: Falls are the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults. The objective of this study was to determine whether the quarantine/lockdown elicited by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to a change in the incidence of falls in geriatric patients between March 2020 – December 2020 compared to March 2019 – December [...]

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE), both pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), causes morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. The duration of VTE risk in trauma, particularly after discharge, is not well understood, especially in the context of shortened hospital stays. Although guidelines provide recommendations for extended VTE prophylaxis after major orthopedic surgery, such [...]

Background: Hospital medicine patients with complex behavioral and psychiatric needs benefit from specific resources and training. Inability to provide intensive, longitudinal, and specialized support for patients with psychiatric needs contributes to dissatisfaction in clinical work for hospitalists, and may increase the risk for workplace violence from patients. Little is known about the prevalence of psychiatric [...]

Background: More than 71,000 people are non-fatally injured by firearms annually in the US and forced to deal with the aftermath and sequela of surviving a gunshot wound (GSW). The social determinants of health (SDOH) needs in this vulnerable population are poorly understood, particularly at the time of discharge. Following up with healthcare providers after [...]

Background: Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) pose a unique problem because prognosis is difficult to predict; therefore, treatment decisions are complex with uncertain outcomes. According to the American College of Surgeons 2018 Trauma Quality Improvement Project (TQIP), identified patients should receive a palliative care assessment within 24 hours, a family conversation should be held within 72 [...]