Evaluation of the predictive role of base deficit in morbidity and mortality in elderly trauma in birjand, iran in 2018-2019

Trauma is one of the most critical health problems worldwide. In the trauma of the elderly, the rate of complications and mortality is high. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Base Deficit (BD) and morbidity and mortality in elderly trauma patients.

This cross-sectional study was performed on elderly trauma patients who were referred to the emergency department of Imam Reza Hospital in Birjand from 2018 to 2019. Our inclusion criteria were age over 65 years, no history of diabetes mellitus and kidney diseases, no alcohol and aspirin consumption, and no history of conditions that cause severe volume loss and dehydration. The Injury Severity Score (ISS) measures trauma intensity based on the abbreviated injury scale (AIS). The Patient’s BD results were extracted from their Venous Blood Gas (VBG) test. Data were analyzed in SPSS Statistics software (Version 23) using the Chi-square test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney (P<0.05) was considered significant.

This study, 77 patients were enrolled (the mean age of individuals: (80.65±7.28) male/female ratio: 1.02). BD mean was (7.58±0.63 mmol/L). The level of consciousness was statistically different between BD groups (P-value=0.001). The injury severity score mean had a significant association with the BD level (P<0.001). Also, with increasing BD level, the length of hospitalization in the ICU increased significantly (P-value=0.001).

BD can predict the severity of traumatic injury in the elderly. Along with other available factors such as serum lactate, BD can be reliable predictor of outcomes in trauma elderly patients.