Outcome of major trauma in a Turkish university hospital: did integrated approach make a difference?

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the institution in an in-hospital integrated approach to trauma on the mortality of severely injured patients in a university hospital in Turkey. We examined the effects of several risk factors, namely physiological parameters, anatomical findings, and the timeliness of therapeutic approaches, on the mortality of major trauma patients before and after the institution of integrated trauma care. The investigated risk factors were injury severity score (ISS), revised trauma score (RTS), anatomical localization of the injury, the type of injury, prehospital time, emergency room time, and referral from another hospital.

Financial burden of trauma care on a university hospital in a developing country.

Background: Trauma care is expensive and more so for the hospitals not subsidized by the government, as is the case in developing countries. In this study, the burden of trauma care on a typical Level I trauma center in Turkey was investigated.

Methods: Medical, demographic, and financial records of trauma patients who were hospitalized in the calendar year of 1996 were analyzed.