%0 Journal Article
%T Does use of a trauma checklist increase discharges from the emergency department?
%A Amani Jambhekar
%A Bashar Fahoum
%A Daniel Laskey
%A James Rucinski
%A Ryan Lindborg
%A Vincent Chan
%J Trauma
%@ 1477-0350
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/1460408617698510
%X Emergency department (ED) discharge is appropriate for patients with minor traumatic injuries. The objective of this study is to determine if use of a trauma checklist increases identification of patients with minor trauma who are safe for discharge. Data were collected on trauma patients evaluated between 1 April 2015 and 31 January 2016 in two groups before and after introduction of a trauma checklist. The two groups were compared using age, mechanism of injury, and Injury Severity Score (ISS) using unpaired Student t-tests and Fisher¡¯s exact test. A total of 841 trauma patients were included; 197 prior to the introduction of the checklist and 644 afterwards. Following the implementation of the trauma checklist, significantly more patients were discharged from the ED (18.2% vs. 7.6%, p£¿=£¿0.0004). Discharged patients in the pre- and post-checklist groups had similar ISS (1.93£¿¡À£¿1.49 vs. 1.87£¿¡À£¿1.90, p£¿=£¿0.90) and were of similar age (35.27£¿¡À£¿11.06 vs. 41.99 years£¿¡À£¿18.20, p£¿=£¿0.17). There was no increase in ¡®bounce-backs¡¯ to the ED in the post checklist group despite a significantly higher rate of discharge. Use of a trauma checklist allows for better identification of those trauma patients who are safe to discharge from the ED and widespread use may decrease healthcare costs
%K Checklist
%K trauma
%K injury severity score
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1460408617698510