Antecedent traumatic injuries independently predict higher 90-day mortality for patients admitted to the ICU with surgical sepsis.

INTRODUCTION

Sepsis and trauma are leading causes of mortality. We hypothesize that antecedent trauma contributes to worse outcomes.

METHODS

A single-institution retrospective study of patients admitted to the SICU between September 2013-January 2019 who met Sepsis III criteria. 1401 patients were included, 7.8 ​% (n ​= ​106) had preceding trauma. Cox regression was used to model in-hospital death and 90-day mortality. Kaplan-Meier 90- Day Survival Curve was calculated based on trauma status.

RESULTS

Antecedent trauma was associated with in-hospital mortality (p ​= ​0.03). Trauma, transfer status, age, Charlson comorbidity index, admission lactate and SOFA score were all independent predictors of in-hospital and 90-day mortality (p ​< ​0.005). 90-day survival curve showed a trend towards decreasing survival for the trauma cohort (p ​= ​0.02).

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate antecedent trauma may have significant impact on patient outcomes. Further investigation is necessary to explore the underlying mechanisms linking trauma and sepsis.