Pattern and In-Hospital Mortality of Thoracoabdominal Injuries Associated with Motor Vehicle Accident-Related Head Injury: a Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Aim: To determine the pattern and in-hospital mortality of thoracoabdominal injuries associated with head injuries (HI) due to motor vehicle accidents. Settings and Design. A single-center retrospective study in a tertiary care hospital, level 1 trauma center in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. Methods and Materials: Descriptive analysis was conducted to evaluate sex, age, types of head injury, associated thoracoabdominal injuries, particular admission day, duration of hospital stay, and discharge category, and associations between different variables and outcomes were analyzed.
Results: The cohort had a mean age of 26.9 ± 15.8 years, with a predominance of men (86.9%). Thoracoabdominal injuries were present in 6.8% of MVA-related HI, and 14.3% of victims expired during their hospital stay, mostly within the first 10 days. All expired patients had posttraumatic brain lesions. Moreover, there was a significant association between intensive care unit (ICU) admission and poor prognosis. Conclusions: Existence of posttraumatic brain lesions and requirement of ICU admission are significant variables affecting outcomes in patients with motor vehicle-associated HI with concomitant thoracoabdominal trauma in this study. Patients who survived the first 10 days after trauma seemed to have a better prognosis. More efforts are needed to reduce the health burden of this lethal injury.

1. Introduction

Traumatic head injury (HI) may cause damage to the scalp, skull, or brain. When the brain is affected, it is called traumatic brain injury (TBI) [1]. TBI, the “silent epidemic,” is a serious medical condition with the highest contribution to deaths and disabilities worldwide compared to any other traumatic insult [2]. TBI is associated with a mortality rate of 30 per 100,000 and an estimated 50,000 deaths in the United States annually [3]. Management of HI should target both the immediate impact of injury and its manifestation, and measures to prevent complications [4].

Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are the main causes of TBI in Saudi Arabia [5, 6]. Furthermore, MVAs are considered the main causes of TBI in developing countries [7, 8]. On the other hand, falls are considered the leading cause of TBI in North America and Europe [9, 10]. The effects of MVAs are usually variable, resulting in polytrauma. MVA outcomes may be affected by many factors, such as gender, age, type of collision, and speed of the vehicle [11, 12]. Traffic regulations and infrastructure may influence TBI incidence and outcomes in different regions of the world [2].

Head injuries lead to approximately 34% of all traumatic deaths, with an increased risk of mortality in older age groups [3, 13]. Thoracic and abdominal traumas are common among victims of MVAs [14, 15]. Thoracic injury is considered the second most common cause of mortality and major injury after HI [16]. Abdominal injury also contributes to trauma-related deaths following MVA and accounts for 10% of injuries due to MVAs [17].

Motor vehicle accidents resulting in polytrauma is usually managed in urgent circumstances. The apparent injury, especially if it is HI, may attract the most attention. This may affect the accurate diagnosis and proper management of hidden associated injuries [18, 19]. Extracranial injuries have been reported to significantly affect the outcome of patients with TBI when hospital admission is required [20]. Accordingly, knowledge of the pattern of associations between injuries helps predict outcomes. Furthermore, meticulous analysis of this association is of pivotal importance, especially after MVA, with its potential to cause multiorgan injuries [21]. However, very few prior studies have addressed the relationship between HI and associated thoracoabdominal injuries due to MVAs.

This study is aimed at determining the pattern and analyzing the in-hospital mortality of thoracoabdominal injuries associated with head injuries due to motor vehicle accidents.

2. Patients and Methods

This study had a retrospective design. Data for analysis were collected from the files of patients admitted to Aseer Central Hospital, the main tertiary hospital in Southern Saudi Arabia, from January 2010 to January 2020.

All patients aged 14 years or older, admitted due to MVA, and suffered from documented head injury in addition to thoracic and/or abdominal injuries were included in the study. Patients without associated thoracic or abdominal injuries and those with head injuries due to other causes were excluded from the study. Patients less than 14 years were treated in other hospital (Children's Hospital) according to the protocols of the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia.

The files of the patients were reviewed, and the following data set was recorded: demographic data, details of the head injuries and computed tomography (CT) reports if available, details of the thoracic and/or abdominal injuries, the need for critical care admission, duration of hospital stay, and prognosis on discharge.

2.1. Outcomes

The primary endpoints were as follows:

Determination of the proportion of MVA-related HIs associated with thoracoabdominal injuries

Determination of the pattern of thoracoabdominal injuries associated with MVA-related HI

Determination of in-hospital outcomes of MVA-related HIs associated with thoracoabdominal injuries

The study was approved by the ethical committee of King Khalid University (ECM#2021-4001). All precautions were taken to conceal the identity of the patients.

2.2. Statistical Analysis

Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences “SPSS version 25 (SPSS, IBM, New York)”. Descriptive statistics were applied (i.e., frequency and percentage for categorical data, in addition to mean and standard deviation for quantitative data). The chi-square likelihood ratio was used to test the significance of the differences. Differences were considered statistically significant at p values less than 0.05.

3. Results

During the 10-year study period, 1,235 patients were admitted with MVA-related head injuries. Only 84 patients (6.8%) had associated thoracic and/or abdominal injuries. The patients included in our study had a mean age of 26.9 ± 15.8 years, and approximately half of the patients (52.4%) were between 20 and 40 years of age. Majority of our patients were male; the study population included 73 (86.9%) men and 11 (13.1%) women. Intra-axial lesions and head injuries with multiple intracranial lesions were the most common types of head injuries, occurring at 33.3% and 31.0%, respectively. The demographic and clinical data of the study group are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Demographics and outcome of motor vehicle accident-related traumatic head injuries associated with thoracoabdominal injuries (n = 84).

	No.	%
Age
<20 years	29	34.5
20–40 years	44	52.4
>40 years	11	13.1
Mean ± SD	26.9 ± 15.8
Gender
Males	73	86.9
Females	11	13.1
Day of admission
Weekday	64	76.2
Weekend	20	23.8
Diagnosis of head injury
Extra-axial hematoma	15	17.9
Head injury, multiple lesions	26	31.0
Head injury, unspecified	3	3.6
Intra-axial lesion	28	33.3
Scalp injury	4	4.8
Skull fracture	8	9.5
Associated thoracoabdominal injuries
Thoracic injuries	49	58.3
Abdominal injuries	32	38.1
Combined thoracoabdominal injuries	3	3.6
Hospital stay
<10 days	28	33.3
10–20 days	16	19.0
>20 days	40	47.6
Discharge category
Expired	12	14.3
Home	66	78.6
Transferred	6	7.1
Admission to ICU
No	67	79.8
Yes	17	20.2
Other injuries
No	49	58.3
Yes	35	41.7

Regarding the type of thoracoabdominal injuries occurring with MVA-related HI, 58.3% of patients had associated chest injuries, of which lung contusion and pneumothorax constituted the most common thoracic injuries observed, at 19.0% and 13.1%, respectively (out of all studied patients). Abdominal injuries occurred in 38.1% of patients. Splenic injuries were the most common abdominal injuries (14.3%) (out of all studied patients). Only 3.6% of patients had both thoracic and abdominal injuries. Data regarding associated thoracic and abdominal injuries are presented in Table 2.

Table 2

Associated thoracic and abdominal injuries.

Type of injury (N = 84)	No.	%
Thoracic injuries
Thoracic injury, unspecified	8	9.5
Multiple chest injuries	4	4.8
Fracture ribs	5	6.0
Hemopneumothorax	1	1.2
Hemothorax	4	4.8
Pneumothorax	11	13.1
Lung contusion	16	19.0
Abdominal injuries
Multiple abdominal injuries	1	1.2
Abdomen injury, unspecified	11	13.1
Pancreatic injury	1	1.2
Splenic injury	12	14.3
Hepatic injury	7	8.3
Combined thoracic and abdominal injuries
Pneumothorax/liver injury	1	1.2
Lung contusion/spleen injury	1	1.2
Chest injury, unspecified/abdomen injury, unspecified	1	1.2

No specific variable was related to the type of head injury. Head injury combined with thoracoabdominal injuries is more common in older patients and in patients with other injuries. Associations between different variables and thoracoabdominal injuries, and the type of head injuries incurred are shown in Tables 3 and 4.

Table 3

Association between the different variables and thoracoabdominal injuries (n = 84).

Variables	Chest		Abdomen		Chest and abdomen		p value†
	No. (%)	AR	No. (%)	AR	No. (%)	AR
Age
<20 years	15 (51.7)	-0.9	13 (44.8)	0.9	1 (3.4)	0.0	0.041
20–40 years	27 (61.4)	0.6	17 (38.6)	0.1	0 (0.0)	-1.8
>40 years	7 (63.6)	0.4	2 (18.2)	-1.5	2 (18.2)	2.8
Gender
Males	45 (61.6)	1.6	26 (35.6)	-1.2	2 (2.7)	-1.1	0.246
Females	4 (36.4)	-1.6	6 (54.5)	1.2	1 (9.1)	1.1
Day of admission
Weekday	37 (57.8)	-0.2	24 (37.5)	-0.2	3 (4.7)	1.0	0.434
Weekend	12 (60.0)	0.2	8 (40.0)	0.2	0 (0.0)	-1.0
Hospital stay
<10 days	19 (67.9)	1.3	9 (32.1)	-0.8	0 (0.0)	-1.2	0.235
10–20 days	9 (56.3)	-0.2	7 (43.8)	0.5	0 (0.0)	-0.9
>20 days	21 (52.5)	-1.0	16 (40.0)	0.3	3 (7.5)	1.8
Discharge condition
Improved	36 (54.5)	-1.3	28 (42.4)	1.6	2 (3.0)	-0.5	0.264
Not improved	13 (72.2)	1.3	4 (22.2)	-1.6	1 (5.6)	0.5
Discharge category
Expired	9 (75.0)	1.3	3 (25.0)	-1.0	0 (0.0)	-0.7	0.284
Home	36 (54.5)	-1.3	28 (42.4)	1.6	2 (3.0)	-0.5
Transferred	4 (66.7)	0.4	1 (16.7)	-1.1	1 (16.7)	1.8
ICU admission
No	38 (56.7)	-0.6	26 (38.8)	0.3	3 (4.5)	0.9	0.462
Yes	11 (64.7)	0.6	6 (35.3)	-0.3	0 (0.0)	-0.9
Type of head injury
Extra-axial hematoma	10 (66.7)	0.7	4 (26.7)	-1.0	1 (6.7)	0.7	0.247
Multiple lesions	16 (61.5)	0.4	8 (30.8)	-0.9	2 (7.7)	1.4
Unspecified	2 (66.7)	0.3	1 (33.3)	-0.2	0 (0.0)	-0.3
Intra-axial lesion	14 (50.0)	-1.1	14 (50.0)	1.6	0 (0.0)	-1.2
Scalp injury	4 (100.0)	1.7	0 (0.0)	-1.6	0 (0.0)	-0.4
Skull fracture	3 (37.5)	-1.3	5 (62.5)	1.5	0 (0.0)	-0.6
Other injuries
Yes	17 (48.6)	-1.5	15 (42.9)	0.8	3 (8.6)	2.1	0.037
No	32 (65.3)	1.5	17 (34.7)	-0.8	0 (0.0)	-2.1

AR: adjusted residual. †Based on the likelihood ratio chi-square statistic, p < 0.05 is significant.

Table 4

Association between the different variables and types of head injuries (n = 84).

Variables	Extra-axial hematoma		Multiple lesions		Unspecified		Intra-axial lesion		Scalp injury		Skull fracture		p value†
	No. (%)	AR	No. (%)	AR	No. (%)	AR	No. (%)	AR	No. (%)	AR	No. (%)	AR
Age
<20 years	4 (13.8)	-0.7	8 (27.6)	-0.5	2 (6.9)	1.2	9 (31.0)	-0.3	2 (6.9)	0.7	4 (13.8)	1.0	0.510
20–40 years	10 (22.7)	1.2	12 (27.3)	-0.8	1 (2.3)	-0.7	16 (36.4)	0.6	1 (2.3)	-1.1	4 (9.1)	-0.1
>40 years	1 (9.1)	-0.8	6 (54.5)	1.8	0 (0.0)	-0.7	3 (27.3)	-0.5	1 (9.1)	0.7	0 (0.0)	-1.2
Gender
Males	15 (20.5)	1.7	23 (31.5)	0.3	2 (2.7)	-1.1	25 (34.2)	0.5	3 (4.1)	-0.7	5 (6.8)	-2.2	0.124
Females	0 (0.0)	-1.7	3 (27.3)	-0.3	1 (9.1)	1.1	3 (27.3)	-0.5	1 (9.1)	0.7	3 (27.3)	2.2
Day of admission
Weekday	13 (20.3)	1.1	16 (25.0)	-2.1	2 (3.1)	-0.4	22 (34.4)	0.4	4 (6.3)	1.1	7 (10.9)	0.8	0.233
Weekend	2 (10.0)	-1.1	10 (50.0)	2.1	1 (5.0)	0.4	6 (30.0)	-0.4	0 (0.0)	-1.1	1 (5.0)	-0.8
Hospital stay
<10 days	6 (21.4)	0.6	5 (17.9)	-1.8	0 (0.0)	-1.2	12 (42.9)	1.3	2 (7.1)	0.7	3 (10.7)	0.3	0.080
10–20 days	1 (6.3)	-1.3	4 (25.0)	-0.6	2 (12.5)	2.1	5 (31.3)	-0.2	2 (12.5)	1.6	2 (12.5)	0.5
>20 days	8 (20.0)	0.5	17 (42.5)	2.2	1 (2.5)	-0.5	11 (27.5)	-1.1	0 (0.0)	-2.0	3 (7.5)	-0.8
Discharge condition
Improved	8 (12.1)	-2.6	22 (33.3)	0.9	2 (3.0)	-0.5	23 (34.8)	0.6	4 (6.1)	1.1	7 (10.6)	0.6	0.150
Not improved	7 (38.9)	2.6	4 (22.2)	-0.9	1 (5.6)	0.5	5 (27.8)	-0.6	0 (0.0)	-1.1	1 (5.6)	-0.6
Discharge category
Expired	4 (33.3)	1.5	4 (33.3)	0.2	0 (0.0)	-0.7	4 (33.3)	0.0	0 (0.0)	-0.8	0 (0.0)	-1.2	0.087
Home	8 (12.1)	-2.6	22 (33.3)	0.9	2 (3.0)	-0.5	23 (34.8)	0.6	4 (6.1)	1.1	7 (10.6)	0.6
Transferred	3 (50.0)	2.1	0 (0.0)	-1.7	1 (16.7)	1.8	1 (16.7)	-0.9	0 (0.0)	-0.6	1 (16.7)	0.6
ICU admission
No	10 (14.9)	-1.4	21 (31.3)	0.2	2 (3.0)	-0.6	23 (34.3)	0.4	4 (6.0)	1.0	7 (10.4)	0.6	0.558
Yes	5 (29.4)	1.4	5 (29.4)	-0.2	1 (5.9)	0.6	5 (29.4)	-0.4	0 (0.0)	-1.0	1 (5.9)	-0.6
Other injuries
Yes	7 (20.0)	0.4	13 (37.1)	1.0	2 (5.7)	0.9	9 (25.7)	-1.3	0 (0.0)	-1.7	4 (11.4)	0.5	0.202
No	8 (16.3)	-0.4	13 (26.5)	-1.0	1 (2.0)	-0.9	19 (38.8)	1.3	4 (8.2)	1.7	4 (8.2)	-0.5

AR: adjusted residual. †Based on the likelihood ratio chi-square statistic, p < 0.05 is significant.

Studying the association between the different variables and the outcomes of our patients revealed that most deaths occurred within the first 10 days of injury. In addition, there is a significant association between intensive care unit (ICU) admission and poor prognosis. Associations between different variables and outcomes of head injury with thoracoabdominal injuries are shown in Table 5.

Table 5

Association between different variables and outcome of MVA-related HI with thoracoabdominal injuries (n = 84).

Variables	Expired		Home		Transferred		p value†
	No. (%)	AR	No. (%)	AR	No. (%)	AR
Age
<20 years	2 (6.9)	-1.4	24 (82.8)	0.7	3 (10.3)	0.8	0.438
20–40 years	7 (15.9)	0.4	35 (79.5)	0.2	2 (4.5)	-1.0
>40 years	3 (27.3)	1.3	7 (63.6)	-1.3	1 (9.1)	0.3
Gender
Males	11 (15.1)	0.5	56 (76.7)	-1.1	6 (8.2)	1.0	0.335
Females	1 (9.1)	-0.5	10 (90.9)	1.1	0 (0.0)	-1.0
Day of admission
Weekday	8 (12.5)	-0.8	51 (79.7)	0.4	5 (7.8)	0.4	0.677
Weekend	4 (20.0)	0.8	15 (75.0)	-0.4	1 (5.0)	-0.4
Hospital stay
<10 days	9 (32.1)	3.3	19 (67.9)	-1.7	0 (0.0)	-1.8	0.001
10–20 days	1 (6.3)	-1.0	15 (93.8)	1.6	0 (0.0)	-1.2
>20 days	2 (5.0)	-2.3	32 (80.0)	0.3	6 (15.0)	2.7
ICU admission
No	1 (1.5)	-6.7	64 (95.5)	7.5	2 (3.0)	-2.9	<0.001
Yes	11 (64.7)	6.7	2 (11.8)	-7.5	4 (23.5)	2.9
Type of head injury
Extra-axial hematoma	4 (26.7)	-2.8	8 (53.3)	-2.6	3 (20.0)	2.1	0.087
Multiple lesions	4 (15.4)	0.2	22 (84.6)	0.9	0 (0.0)	-1.7
Unspecified	0 (0.0)	-0.7	2 (66.7)	-0.5	1 (33.3)	1.8
Intra-axial lesion	4 (14.3)	0.0	23 (82.1)	0.6	1 (3.6)	-0.9
Scalp injury	0 (0.0)	-0.8	4 (100.0)	1.1	0 (0.0)	-0.6
Skull fracture	0 (0.0)	-1.2	7 (87.5)	0.6	1 (12.5)	0.6
Site of associated injury
Chest	9 (18.4)	1.3	36 (73.5)	-1.3	4 (8.2)	0.4	0.284
Abdomen	3 (9.4)	-1.0	28 (87.5)	1.6	1 (3.1)	-1.1
Both	0 (0.0)	-0.7	2 (66.7)	-0.5	1 (33.3)	1.8
Other injuries
Yes	4 (11.4)	-0.6	28 (80.0)	0.3	3 (8.6)	0.4	0.765
No	8 (16.3)	0.6	38 (77.6)	-0.3	3 (6.1)	-0.4

AR: adjusted residual. †Based on the likelihood ratio chi-square statistic, p < 0.05 is significant.

Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis (Table 6) revealed that patients' hospital stay and the need for admission to ICU were significantly associated with case fatality due to head injury (p = 0.017 and p < 0.001, respectively).

Table 6

Binary logistic regression parameters for head injury patients' mortality.

Independent variables	B	S.E.	Wald	p value	Exp (B)	95% CI for Exp (B)
						Lower	Upper
Age	-0.05	0.04	1.55	0.213	0.95	0.89	1.03
Site of injury	1.23	1.44	0.74	0.391	3.43	0.21	57.44
Hospital stay	1.75	0.74	5.65	0.017 †	5.78	1.36	24.53
Weekend	-0.01	1.393	0.00	0.995	0.99	0.07	15.20
Need for admission to ICU	5.90	1.619	13.26	<0.001 †	363.42	15.22	8675.37
Constant	-10.56	4.88	4.69	0.03	0.000

†Statistically significant.

4. Discussion

According to reports by the World Health Organization, head trauma is responsible for hospitalization or death of 10 million people per year [22]. Although the total miles driven worldwide in 2020 was less than that in previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 4.8 million roadway users were still seriously injured in MVAs, with an estimated 474 billion dollars cost to society. Approximately 1.3 million people died as a result of MVAs [23]. Motor vehicles are the main transportation methods in Saudi Arabia. The number of operating vehicles in Saudi Arabia in 2020 was estimated to be 10.03 million [24]. More than half a million MVAs occurred in Saudi Arabia in just one year, leading to 7,159 deaths and 40,000 injuries [25]. Accordingly, MVAs are considered to be the country's main cause of death, especially for 16- to 30-year-old males [26]. The accident-to-injury ratio in Saudi Arabia is very high, reaching up to 8 : 6, compared to the international ratio of 8 : 1 [25]. Detailed analysis may be required for a better understanding of this important health problem.

Head injury is considered a serious trauma due to the important and vital organs involved. MVAs are the leading causes of head injuries, especially TBI, with drastic consequences [27]. The faster the speed of the vehicle, the greater the magnitude of injuries and the incidence of associated deaths [28]. Head injuries, chest injuries, and abdominal hemorrhage are considered major causes of death in MVAs [17, 29]. Furthermore, a combination of abdominal, thoracic, and head injuries increases the risk of death [30].

Chest injuries represented approximately 60% of the associated injuries in our study, compared to approximately 40% for abdominal injuries. The most common thoracic injuries were lung contusions and pneumothorax. Chest injuries are common MVA-related injuries [17]. Mezue et al. [31] reported that the most common types of intrathoracic injuries are pneumothorax and hemothorax. However, their study did not exclusively include MVAs. Splenic injuries were the most commonly associated abdominal injuries in this study. The spleen is the most commonly injured viscus in blunt abdominal trauma [32].

In this study, no specific association was found between the type of head injury and the type of associated thoracoabdominal injury. Patients who suffered head injuries associated with thoracic and/or abdominal injuries were significantly found to suffer from other injuries, such as fractures and lacerations. This may be explained by the fact that the magnitude of the MVA can affect the extent and severity of injuries [28]. Head, thoracic, and abdominal injuries could be parts of multiple traumatic injuries in MVAs with a high magnitude rather than being connected with a specific pattern.

Chest and abdominal injuries are not merely associated with head injuries in MVAs, but could contribute to worsening of the outcome. Subsequent hypoxia or shock following chest or abdominal injuries may lead to secondary brain damage [33]. Early and accurate diagnosis and management of associated injuries can improve the survival of patients with severe head injuries [34]. Nevertheless, these associated injuries are usually overshadowed by an emphasis on head injury, which is the highest among other priorities.

The mortality rate of MVA-related HI associated with thoracoabdominal injuries in this study was 14.3%. This case fatality rate is comparable to the rates of death in MVA-related HI in other studies [35, 36]. The association between different variables and outcomes of MVA-related HI with thoracoabdominal injuries in this study revealed a significant association with ICU admission. All patients who died in our study had brain lesions. In addition, 9 out of the 12 deaths were in the first 10 days, which was found to be statistically significant. In general, head injuries may require a long hospital admission [37]. For patients suffering from MVA-related HI with thoracoabdominal injuries, the first 10 days seem to be crucial in determining their outcomes. Patients who survive the first 10 days had a better prognosis.

5. Limitations

This study was limited by its retrospective nature and by being a hospital-based study. It also lacked accident details and assessment of the severity of injury using validated scales, such as the injury severity score.

6. Conclusions

Existence of posttraumatic brain lesions and requirement of ICU admission are significant variables affecting outcomes in patients with motor vehicle-associated HI with concomitant thoracoabdominal trauma in this study. Patients who survived the first 10 days after trauma seemed to have a better prognosis. More efforts are needed to reduce the health burden of this lethal injury.