Paediatric Major Trauma: A Retrospective Observational Comparison of Mortality in Prehospital Bypass and Secondary Transfer in the East of England

Background More than half of seriously injured children are not initially treated at a major trauma centre (MTC). Children may be transported by private vehicle to a trauma unit (TU). Children may also be transported by emergency medical services (EMS) to the nearest TU with approximately one in five of these undergoing secondary transfer to an MTC. Most trauma networks permit TU bypass to an MTC. However, the evidence on outcomes between transfer and bypass is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the use of the trauma network by comparing outcomes between paediatric major trauma patients by the method of presentation. Methods In this retrospective observational study, a consecutive sample of paediatric (<16 years old) major trauma patients transported to the regional MTC (Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH)) between 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2020 was included. Patients were excluded if they arrived at the MTC >24 hours post-injury or were transported to the MTC as the nearest hospital. Patients were divided into four groups: self-presented to MTC, MTC as nearest hospital, bypass and secondary transfer. Results A total of 315 patients (28 ‘self-presented’, 55 ‘nearest’, 58 ‘bypass’ and 174 ‘secondary transfers’) were included. The median age was 9.4 [3.7-13.6] years, and n=209 (66.3%) were male. The median Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 16.0 [9.0-25.0] and n=190 (60.3%) had an ISS >15. There was no difference in 30-day mortality between the ‘bypass’ and ‘secondary transfer’ groups. There was a significantly longer hospital and intensive care unit length of stay (LOS) in the bypass group compared to other groups, both p<0.001. The median time to definitive care was five hours greater in the secondary transfer group compared to ‘bypass’ (bypass 117.6 minutes [100.8-136.6], secondary transfer 418.8 minutes [315.6-529.8]). Conclusion There was no significant difference in 30-day mortality of paediatric major trauma patients who underwent secondary transfer compared to those transported directly from the scene to the MTC, despite significant time delays in reaching definitive care.