TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Preventable trauma deaths in the Western Cape of South Africa: a consensus-based panel review
JO  - PLOS global public health
A1  - Dixon, Julia
A1  - de Vries, Shaheem
A1  - Fleischer, Chelsie
A1  - Bhaumik, Smitha
A1  - Dymond, Chelsea
A1  - Jones, Austin
A1  - Ross, Madeline
A1  - Finn, Julia
A1  - Geduld, Heike
A1  - Steyn, Elmin
A1  - Lategan, Hendrick
A1  - Hodsdon, Lesley
A1  - Verster, Janette
A1  - Mukonkole, Suzan
A1  - Doubell, Karlien
A1  - Baidwan, Navneet
A1  - Mould-Millman, Nee-Kofi
SP  - e0003122
EP  - e0003122
VL  - 4
IS  - 5
N2  - Injury causes 4.4 million deaths worldwide annually. 90% of all injury-related deaths occur in low-and-middle income countries. <br><br>FINDINGS from expert-led trauma death reviews can inform strategies to reduce trauma deaths. A cohort of trauma decedents was identified from an on-going study in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. For each case, demographics, injury characteristics, time and location of death and postmortem findings were collected. An expert multidisciplinary panel of reviewed each case, determined preventability and made recommendations for improvement. Analysis of preventable and non-preventable cases was performed using Chi-square, Fisher's exact, and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. A rapid qualitative analysis of recommendations was conducted and descriptively summarized. 138 deaths (48 deceased-on-scene and 90 pre- or in-hospital deaths) were presented to 23 panelists. Overall, 46 (33%) of deaths reviewed were considered preventable or potentially preventable. Of all pre- and in-hospital deaths, late deaths (>24 hours) were more frequently preventable (22, 56%) and due to multi-organ failure and sepsis, compared to early deaths (≤24 hours) with 32 (63%) that were non-preventable and due to central nervous system injury and haemorrhage. 45% of pre and in-hospital deaths were preventable or potentially preventable. The expert panel recommended strengthening community based primary prevention strategies for reducing interpersonal violence alongside health system improvements to facilitate high quality care. For the health system the panel's key recommendations included improving team-based care, adherence to trauma protocols, timely access to radiology, trauma specialists, operative and critical care.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2767-3375
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003122
ID  - ref1
ER  -