Tertiary Trauma Survey: Nurses Performance and Polytrauma Patients’ Outcomes

Abstract

Context: Tertiary Trauma Survey is an important tool for detecting missed injury, and some trauma units have created their protocol for tertiary trauma surveys to decrease the incidence of missed injuries in trauma patients.
Aim: This study aims to assess nurses' performance regarding tertiary Survey and Poly-trauma patients' outcomes.
Methods: Descriptive exploratory design was utilized to achieve the aim of the study. A convenient sample of all available nurses (50 nurses) working in the intensive care unit at the emergency hospital affiliated to Ain Shams University Hospitals. A purposeful sample composed of (50) adult patients diagnosed as polytrauma patients was recruited from the same units. Data was obtained through three main tools; Self-administered questionnaire for nurses, nurses practice observational checklist and clinical outcome record for patients.

Results: Nurses had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge and practice regarding the tertiary trauma survey (44%&32%, respectively). There was a highly statistically significant positive correlation between the total level of knowledge and practice. There was a difference between injury severity score and laboratory, hemodynamic status, physical assessment, and radiological findings of poly-trauma patients on admission and after 24 hours.

Conclusion: Less than half and less than one-third of the nurses under study had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge and practice, respectively, regarding the tertiary trauma survey. There was a highly statistically significant positive correlation between the total level of knowledge and total level practice. Polytrauma patients' outcomes revealed a statistically significant difference between injury severity score, hemodynamic status, physical assessment, and radiological findings in polytrauma patients on admission and after 24 hours. Recommendations: Further research is needed to follow the patients' outcomes and missed injuries. Replication of the current study on a larger probability sample is recommended to achieve generalization of the result. Tailored Training courses are needed for nurses to improve unsatisfactory knowledge and practices regarding tertiary trauma survey- integrated studies with the emergency medical team to communicate patients' outcome research findings.