Background: The inflammatory response and post-traumatic complications like infections play an important role in the pathophysiology of severe injuries. This study examines the microbiological aspects in anti-infective treatment of trauma patients and their inflammatory response in post-traumatic infections complications.Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in trauma patients (ISS ≥ 16) over a 1-year period (01/2018 to 12/2018) is provided. Patient population was stratified into severely injured patients without post-traumatic infection (inf-PT), and severely injured patients who developed an infection (inf+PT).Results: Of 114 trauma patients, 45 suffered from post-traumatic infection during the first 10 days of hospitalization. Severely injured patients with concomitant traumatic brain injury (PT+TBI) showed the highest rate of post-traumatic infection. Pro-inflammatory reaction was tracked by levels of Interleukin (IL-)6 (day 3: inf+T 190.8 ± 359.4 pg/dL > inf-PT 56.2 ± 57.7 pg/mL (mean ± SD); p = 0.008) and C-Reactive-Protein (CRP, day 3: inf+PT 15.3 mg/dL > inf-PT 6.7 mg/dL, p = 0.001) which were significantly higher in trauma patients who develop an infectious complication and showed a significant positive correlation with the occurrence of infection. The leading entity of infection was pneumonia followed by infections of the urinary tract mainly caused by gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae. 67.5% of all trauma patients received single-shot antibiosis during initial care in trauma bay. The development of secondary colonization was not relevant positively correlated with single-shot antibiosis (r = 0.013, p = 0.895) and prophylactically calculated antibiotic administration (r = 0.066, p = 0.500).Conclusion: Severely injured trauma patients have an increased risk for development of infectious complications, which mainly is pneumonia followed by infection of the urinary tract mainly caused by gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae. Based on the data in this study, the one-time antibiotic and prophylactic calculated use of antibiotics, like Cephalosporins must be critically discussed in terms of their role in the development of post-traumatic infections and microbial selection.

(1) Presentations to a trauma emergency department following a violent confrontation account for a relevant proportion of the overall population. To date, violence (against women) in the domestic setting has been studied in particular. However, representative demographic and preclinical/clinical data outside of this specific subgroup on interpersonal violence are limited; (2) Patient admission records were searched for the occurrence of violent acts between 1 January and 31 December 2019. A total of 290 patients out of over 9000 patients were retrospectively included in the “violence group” (VG). A “typical” traumatologic cohort (presentation due to, among other things, sport-related trauma, falls, or traffic accidents) who had presented during the same period served as comparison group. Then, differences in the type of presentation (pedestrian, ambulance, or trauma room), time of presentation (day of week, time of day), diagnostic (imaging) and therapeutic (wound care, surgery, inpatient admission) measures performed, and discharge diagnosis were examined; (3) A large proportion of the VG were male, and half of the patients were under the influence of alcohol. Significantly more patients in the VG presented via the ambulance service or trauma room and during the weekend and the night. Computed tomography was performed significantly more often in the VG. Surgical wound care in the VG was required significantly more often, with injuries to the head being the most common; (4) The VG represents a relevant cost factor for the healthcare system. Because of the frequent head injuries with concomitant alcohol intoxication, all mental status abnormalities should be attributed to brain injury rather than alcohol intoxication until proven otherwise, to ensure the best possible clinical outcome.

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