Base deficit as a marker of survival after traumatic injury

Abstract

Despite limited adoption of formal DCR, overall survival after injury, stratified by BD, is identical in the modern era. Patients with severely deranged physiology, however, experience better outcomes. BD remains a consistent predictor of mortality after traumatic injury. Predicted survival depends more on the energy level of the injury (stab wound vs. nonstab wound) than the mechanism of injury (blunt vs. penetrating).