Outcomes of multi-trauma road traffic crashes at a tertiary hospital in Oman: Does attendance by trauma surgeons versus non-trauma surgeons make a difference?

Objectives: trauma surgeons are essential in hospital-based trauma care systems. however,there are limited data regarding the impact of their presence on the outcome of multi-trauma patients. this study aimed to assess the outcomes of multi-trauma road traffic crash (rtc) cases attended by trauma surgeons versus those attended by non-trauma surgeons at a tertiary hospital in oman. methods: this retrospective study was conducted in december 2015. a previously published cohort of 821 multi-trauma rtc patients admitted between january and december 2011 to the sultan qaboos university hospital,muscat,oman,were reviewed for demographic,injury and hospitalisation data. in-hospital mortality constituted the main outcome,with admission to the intensive care unit,operative management,intubation and length of stay constituting secondary outcomes. results: a total of 821 multi-trauma rtc cases were identified; of these,60 (7.3%) were attended by trauma surgeons. there was no significant difference in mortality between the two groups (p = 0.35). however,patients attended by trauma surgeons were significantly more likely to be intubated,admitted to the icu and undergo operative interventions (p <0.01 each). the average length of hospital stay in both groups was similar (2.6 versus 2.8 days; p = 0.81). conclusion: no difference in mortality was observed between multi-trauma rtc patients attended by trauma surgeons in comparison to those cared for by non-trauma surgeons at a tertiary centre in oman. © 2017,sultan qaboos university. all rights reserved.