Anderson et al 1988 - Retrospective deaths

Question 1

Outline the contents of Anderson et al 1988

Answer 1

Published in the ‘BMJ’

Retrospective study examining 1000 consecutives deaths across England and Wales.

Analysed by three surgeons and an emergency medicine consultant - yes or no if death was preventable

Separate analysis including injury severity score - haemorrhage vs hypoxia

63% judged to be preventable

Primarily due to haemorrhage and lack of emergency surgical intervention

Emphasises the need for trauma centres - no apparent harm in longer run times

Good parallels with US data

Question 2

What does figure 3 of Anderson et al 1998 show?

Answer 2

Bimodal distribution of deaths - 1-4 hours and 1 day-1 week