Characterizing injury patterns and outcomes in hospitalized trauma patients with non-English Language Preferences

C H Meyer; A Zeidan; G Beshara; J Cortes; C Tibbetts; Brett M Tracy; V Jayaraman Muralidharan; R Sola Jr; R Hernandez Irizarry; K Williams; A Thompson; S R Todd; J D Sciarretta; R N Smith

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.09.021

Characterizing injury patterns and outcomes in hospitalized trauma patients with non-English Language Preferences

Am J Surg. 2023 Jun;225(6):948-952. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.09.021. Epub 2022 Sep 21.

Authors

C H Meyer¹, A Zeidan², G Beshara³, J Cortes⁴, C Tibbetts⁵, Brett M Tracy⁶, V Jayaraman Muralidharan⁷, R Sola Jr⁸, R Hernandez Irizarry⁹, K Williams¹⁰, A Thompson¹¹, S R Todd¹², J D Sciarretta¹³, R N Smith¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA, USA; Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA; Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: cmeye23@emory.edu.
² Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: amy.josephine.zeidan@emory.edu.
³ Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: gbeshara@msm.edu.
⁴ Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: juliana.cortes@emory.edu.
⁵ Mercer University School of Medicine, Savannah, GA, USA. Electronic address: Claire.Marie.Tibbetts@live.mercer.edu.
⁶ The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA. Electronic address: brett.tracy@osumc.edu.
⁷ Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: vjayar5@emory.edu.
⁸ Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: rsola@msm.edu.
⁹ Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: roberto.c.hernandez@emory.edu.
¹⁰ Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA, USA; Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: keneeshia.williams@emory.edu.
¹¹ Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹² Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: Samuel.robert.todd@emory.edu.
¹³ Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA, USA; Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: Jason.d.sciarretta@emory.edu.
¹⁴ Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA, USA; Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA; Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: randi.smith@emory.edu.

PMID: 36182595
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.09.021

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with Non-English Language Preferences (NELP) experience challenges navigating the US healthcare system which can lead to disparate outcomes. This study sought to investigate injury patterns and outcomes in hospitalized trauma patients with NELP.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed at a trauma center from January 2019-December 2020. An institutional database of all emergency department video consultations for interpreter services was cross-referenced with the trauma registry and comparisons were made between NELP and English-preferred (EP) speaking patients.

Results: During the study, 257 NELP patients were hospitalized after traumatic injury. Twenty-two percent had work related injuries compared to only 3.0% in the EP cohort (p < 0.001). When propensity score matched, there were no significant differences in ICU and hospital length of stay or mortality between NELP and EP patients.

Discussion: Trauma patients are linguistically diverse and understanding their injury patterns and outcomes is crucial for guiding culturally and linguistically appropriate injury prevention.

MeSH terms

Emergency Service, Hospital
Hospital Mortality
Humans
Injury Severity Score
Language*
Length of Stay
Retrospective Studies
Trauma Centers*