The American Journal of Surgery
Volume 192, Issue 6 , Pages 710-714, December 2006

The impact of diabetes on outcome in traumatically injured patients: an analysis of the National Trauma Data Bank

Presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Surgical Congress, Kauai, Hawaii, April 3–7, 2006

Department of Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 5656 Kelley St., Suite 30S 62008, Houston, TX 77026, USA

Received 15 April 2006; received in revised form 10 August 2006

Abstract 

Background

Studies on stress hyperglycemia in trauma patients have largely ignored diabetes, a potential confounder. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between diabetes and outcome in trauma patients.

Methods

Data were obtained from the National Trauma Data Bank (version 4.0). The primary outcome measures were mortality and infections. Age, injury severity, and comorbidities were analyzed as independent variables using logistic regression.

Results

A total of 343,250 patients were analyzed, of whom 2.7% were diabetic. On multivariate analysis, insulin-dependent diabetes was an independent although weak predictor of infectious morbidity and intensive care unit length of stay. However, diabetes was not associated with mortality or hospital length of stay. Age and injury severity were the main predictors for all outcome measures.

Conclusions

Diabetes was an independent, although weak, risk factor for infectious complications in trauma patients. Age and injury severity were the most important predictors of outcome.

Keywords: Trauma, Injury, Mortality, Diabetes

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 Awarded best poster at 58th Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Surgical Congress on April 4th, 2006 in Kauai, Hawaii.

PII: S0002-9610(06)00583-6

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2006.08.031

The American Journal of Surgery
Volume 192, Issue 6 , Pages 710-714, December 2006

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