Opportunity for Reduction of Intensive Care Unit Resource Utilization in Pediatric Blunt Liver and Spleen Injuries: A National Trauma Data Bank Analysis

Introduction Guidelines for blunt liver and spleen injury (BLSI) by the Arizona-Texas-Oklahoma-Memphis-Arkansas Consortium (ATOMAC) emphasize hemodynamic stability over injury grade when considering non-operative management (NOM). In this study, we examined rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admission for children with isolated low-risk BLSI among US hospitals. Methods The National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) was queried for patients ages 1-15 admitted between 2017-2019 with BLSI. Patients with penetrating injuries and/or concomitant non-abdominal injuries with AIS score ≥ 3 were excluded. Isolated BLSI was considered low-risk if the patient had normal admission vitals and did not require operative intervention. Primary outcomes measured were ICU admission, ICU length of stay (LOS), and overall LOS. Results 5,777 patients ages 15 and under presented with isolated BLSI during the study period. 2031/5777 (35.2%) were considered low-risk. Low-risk patients had lower rates of ICU admission compared to high-risk patients (30.9% vs. 41.6%, p<0.001) and had shorter ICU LOS (median 2 days vs. 2, p<0.001) and shorter overall LOS (median 41 hours vs. 54, p<0.001). Pediatric verified and non-pediatric verified trauma centers had similar rates of ICU admission (36.8% vs. 38.9%, p=0.11). Conclusion Further work is needed to capture opportunities for reduction in ICU utilization in isolated BLSI.