Outcomes of major trauma among patients with chronic kidney disease and receiving dialysis in Nova Scotia: a retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: The risk of death and complications after major trauma in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is higher than in the general population, but whether this association holds true among Canadian trauma patients is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To characterize patients with CKD/receiving dialysis within a regional major trauma cohort and compare their outcomes with patients without CKD. METHODS: All major traumas requiring hospitalization between 2006 and 2017 were identified from a provincial trauma registry in Nova Scotia, Canada. Trauma patients with stage ≥3 CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) or receiving dialysis were identified by cross-referencing two regional databases for nephrology clinics and dialysis treatments. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality; secondary outcomes included hospital/intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) and ventilator-days. Cox regression was used to adjust for the effects of patient characteristics on in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: In total, 6237 trauma patients were identified, of whom 4997 lived within the regional nephrology catchment area. CKD/dialysis trauma patients (n=101; 28 on dialysis) were older than patients without CKD (n=4896), with higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and had increased risk of in-hospital mortality (31% vs 11%, p<0.001). No differences were observed in injury severity, ICU LOS, or ventilator-days. After adjustment for age, sex, and injury severity, the HR for in-hospital mortality was 1.90 (95% CI 1.33 to 2.70) for CKD/dialysis compared with patients without CKD. CONCLUSION: Independent of injury severity, patients without CKD/dialysis have significantly increased risk of in-hospital mortality after major trauma.