Early Aggressive Pain Management is Associated With Improved Outcomes in Blunt Thoracic Trauma

Due the limited availability of patient population this study requires together with the
inclusion and exclusion criteria the study demands, this study will employ both a
retrospective chart review process as well as prospective enrollment of qualified patients
who provide consent to participate.

The two main groups being evaluated are: (1) eligible patients who received thoracic
epidural within 48 hours of injury and (2) eligible patients who did not receive thoracic
epidural within 48 hours of injury. In both retrospective and prospective approaches, the
investigators will identify patients with blunt thoracic trauma who were eligible for
thoracic epidural placement and received the treatment as well as those patients who were
eligible but did not receive it. Hospital data such as ventilator days, ICU days, hospital
days, hospital charges, and complications, etc. will be recorded.

A retrospective chart review of patients admitted to SFGH suffering from a blunt thoracic
injury resulting in 3 or more rib fractures during a 5year time period from January 1,
2004 through January 1, 2009 will be conducted. Patient charts will be reviewed for pain
management used for blunt thoracic trauma, hospital course, vitals, labs, and outcome
measures. Similar to the prospective enrollment process, the retrospective chart review
will screen for patients who had met the inclusion criteria and had not met any exclusion
criteria.

Prospective patients admitted to SFGH suffering blunt thoracic injury (rib fractures,
sternal fractures) requiring IV opioids for pain relief who do not fit exclusion criteria
will be enrolled. Patients will be asked to give informed signed consent for the study
doctor to place a thoracic epidural within 48 hours of injury and continued for a maximum of
5 days. The consent process will be twofold. For those who have consented to receive
thoracic epidural and agreed to have their health information (HIPAA form) used for the
study no additional permission will be required. However, for those patients who do not
wish to receive epidural, consent will still be sought if their health information can be
used to analyze that arm of the study that did not receive thoracic epidural.

Patient data such as vitals, labs and outcome measures will be recorded and analyzed. The
data gathered both in the retrospective and prospective analyses will be used to assess
utilization rate of thoracic epidural, and to determine if the use of thoracic epidural is
associated with lower resource utilization and is cost effective. In both the retrospective
chart review and prospective enrollment process, subjective pain, improved pulmonary
function, amount of analgesia and overall clinical outcomes will be measured to determine if
patients who received epidural catheters have significantly improved clinical outcomes than
those patients who did not receive epidural catheter.

Inclusion Criteria:

- > 18 years of age

- Patients admitted to SFGH trauma service with blunt thoracic trauma (i.e. rib
fractures, sternal fractures) requiring IV opioids for pain relief.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Acute spine fractures or pre-existing spine deformity

- Traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury or altered mental status

- Unstable pelvic fracture or open abdomen

- Hemodynamic instability or major aortic injury (dissection, pseudoaneurysm)

- Coagulopathy

- Mechanical intubation