Black/African Americans Experience Disparate Outcomes after Lower Extremity Orthopaedic Injury Evaluation in U.S. Emergency Departments

Abstract

Category: Trauma; Other Introduction/Purpose: Racial and ethnic disparities remain a major problem in orthopaedic surgery, driving inequitable resource distribution, disparate clinical outcomes, and increased healthcare costs. The objective of this study was to investigate potential racial/ethnic disparities in the incidence and injury patterns of orthopaedic lower extremity trauma (LET) in the U.S. over the last 10 years, as well as differences in final disposition outcomes. Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database was queried for all orthopaedic LET presenting to U.S Emergency Departments (ED) from 2010–2020. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) were used to compare incidence rates between racial/ethnic groups at the population level. To compare outcomes specifically among patients with LET, adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were calculated for each racial/ethnic group using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Black/African Americans (Black/AAs) consistently experienced the highest incidence of LET over the ten-year period analyzed (709.108 per 100,000 person-years), followed by Whites (547.159 per 100,000 person-years) (Figure 1). Furthermore, Black/AAs had the highest incidence of polytrauma (114.19 per 100,000 person-years), over 1.7x greater than Whites (IRR: 1.73 [95% CI: 1.72–1.75]). Black/AAs had over 2-fold higher odds of death after LET compared to Whites (aOR 2.15 [95% CI: 1.78– 2.59]) (Figure 2). By 2019–2020, the incidence of deaths among Black/AAs reached more than triple that of Whites (IRR: 3.50 [95% CI: 2.74–4.46]). Black/AAs were also the most likely to be discharged AMA (aOR: 1.94 [95% CI: 1.92–1.96]), and the least likely to be admitted as inpatients (aOR: 0.683 [95% CI: 0.679–0.688]). Conclusion: Despite Black/AAs experiencing a disproportionately higher incidence of LET and over 2-fold greater odds of death compared to Whites, they were also the most likely to be discharged AMA and least likely to be admitted as inpatients. Improved patient education and more effective communication may help ensure that injuries in this patient population are not prematurely discharged, potentially improving clinical outcomes and reducing mortality.