Long-term follow-up of patients treated for traumatic injury regarding physical and psychological function and health-related quality of life

Purpose Trauma patients often suffer for long time after their injury with physical and psychological problems. Patient-reported outcome measurements (PROM) help us to understand outcomes beyond mortality. The aim of the study was to describe a sample of Swedish trauma patients, regarding their physical function, psychological morbidity, and quality of life after trauma. Methods The study population was sourced from the Swedish Trauma Register: taking 1 month of data from five hospitals, over three consecutive years. 218 patients met the inclusion criteria, 147 data sets were used. Inclusion criteria included: age ≥ 18; New Injury Severity Scale (NISS) ≥ 9; and discharged alive. Data were collected at 3, 6, and 12 months after the trauma. EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), Posttraumatic Symptom Scale-10 (PTSS-10) questionnaires and Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) instrument were used with additional questions about pain and return to work. Results 12 months after the trauma: full functional recovery (GOS 5) was seen in 68% of the patients; 59% reported difficult or moderate pain or discomfort; and 44.5% of the patients had returned to work. In EQ-5D mobility dimension, no recovery was evident between 6 and 12 months. Twenty percent of the patients had significant symptoms for PTSD after 6 months and 16% after 3 months and 12 months. Conclusion Trauma patients had decreased physical function and psychological morbidity up to 1 year after the initial injury. Incorporating PROM in the follow-up after trauma is important to understand the patient’s perspective of care and treatment.