Respiratory Events After Intensive Care Unit Discharge in Trauma Patients: Epidemiology, Outcomes, and Risk factors.

Respiratory complications are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in trauma patients. The care transition from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the acute care ward is a vulnerable time for injured patients. There is a lack of knowledge about the epidemiology of respiratory events and their outcomes during this transition.
Retrospective cohort study in a single level 1 trauma center of injured patients ≥18 years old initially admitted to the ICU from 2015-2019 who survived initial transfer to the acute care ward. The primary outcome was occurrence of a respiratory event, defined as escalation in oxygen therapy beyond nasal cannula or facemask for ≥3 consecutive hours. Secondary outcomes included unplanned intubation for a primary pulmonary cause, adjudicated via manual chart review, as well as in-hospital mortality and length of stay. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine patient characteristics associated with post-transfer respiratory events.
6,561 patients met inclusion criteria with a mean age of 52.3 years and median injury severity score of 18 (IQR = 13-26). 262 patients (4.0%) experienced a respiratory event. Respiratory events occurred early after transfer (median day 2, IQR 1-5), and were associated with high mortality (16% vs. 1.8%, p < 0.001), and ICU readmission rates (52.6% vs. 4.7%, p < 0.001). Increasing age, male sex, severe chest injury, and co-morbidities including: pre-existing alcohol use disorder, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, were associated with increased odds of a respiratory event. 58 patients experienced an unplanned intubation for a primary pulmonary cause, which was associated with an in-hospital mortality of 39.7%.
Respiratory events after transfer to the acute care ward occur close to the time of transfer and are associated with high mortality. Interventions targeted at this critical time are warranted to improve patient outcomes.
Level III, Prognostic and Epidemiological.

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