Effect of the Profit and Teaching Status of Hospitals on the Patterns and Outcomes of Abdominal Aorta and Inferior Vena Cava Injuries after Severe Abdominal Trauma

BACKGROUND: The inferior vena cava (IVC) and the abdominal aorta (AA) are two important blood vessels located in the abdomen. The outcomes of such injuries rely heavily on the experience, expertise, and resources available at the hospital where the patient is treated. However, our current understanding of the potential impact of the hospital profit and teaching status on surgical outcomes in the context of traumatic injuries to the IVC and AA remains limited, making it important to investigate the potential association between these hospital characteristics and patient outcomes to enhance the quality of care and optimize treatment strategies. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare demographics, trauma characteristics, and outcomes between nonprofit status (NPSH) and for-profit hospital status (FPSH), as well as among community hospitals (CHs), nonteaching hospitals (NTHs), and university hospitals (UHs), in patients with severe abdominal trauma and abdominal aorta injury (AAI), inferior vena cava injury (IVCI), and both (AAI + IVCI). METHODS: Demographics, trauma, and outcome measures associated with AAI, IVCI, and AAI + IVCI were compared between the different profit and teaching status groups using NTDB. Multivariate regression was used to identify independent factors associated with death under care (DUC). RESULTS: In the 2017 NTDB-RDS, 1,479 patients met the inclusion criteria, resulting in an overall incidence of 0.17% for AAI, IVCI, and AAI + IVCI after severe abdominal trauma. More patients died under care in the FPSH group than in the NPSH group (nonprofit vs. for-profit: 60.3% vs. 47.2%; P < 0.001). The results indicated that FPSH independently affected DUC. NTH had no significant effect on DUC; although the in-hospital complication rate varied with NTH, no independent association was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings demonstrated that in patients with severe abdominal trauma, including injuries to AAI, IVCI, or both (AAI + IVCI), the profit status of hospitals, rather than the teaching status, had a substantial influence on DUC. Future studies should examine differences in the volume of cases and levels of trauma centers to better understand how to improve patient outcomes in FPSH.