Trauma-related admissions to intensive care units in Australia: the influence of Indigenous status on outcomes.

Objectives: To investigate the admission characteristics and hospital outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients admitted to intensive units (ICUs) after major trauma. Design, setting: Retrospective analysis of Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Adult Patient Database data from 92 Australian ICUs for the 6-year period, 2010-2015. Participants: Patients older than 17 years of age admitted to public hospital ICUs with a primary diagnosis of trauma. Main outcome measures: ICU and overall hospital lengths of stay, hospital discharge destination, and ICU and overall hospital mortality rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients.

Results: 23 804 people were admitted to Australian public hospital ICUs after major trauma; 1754 (7.4%) were Indigenous Australians. The population-standardised incidence of admissions was consistently higher for Indigenous Australians than for non-Indigenous Australians (847 per million v 251 per million population; incidence ratio, 3.37; 95% CI, 3.19-3.57). Overall hospital mortality rates were similar for Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.04; 95% CI, 0.82-1.31). Indigenous patients were more likely than non-Indigenous patients to be discharged to another hospital (non-Indigenous v Indigenous: aOR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.72-0.96) less likely to be discharged home (non-Indigenous v Indigenous: aOR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.04-1.31).

Conclusion: The population rate of trauma-related ICU admissions was substantially higher for Indigenous than non-Indigenous patients, but hospital mortality rates after ICU admission were similar. Indigenous patients were more likely to be discharged to a another hospital and less likely to be discharged home than non-Indigenous patients.