Functional outcome in patients sustaining moderate and major trauma
TH Rainer, CA Graham, HH Yeung, WS Poon, HF Ho, CW Kam, GN Cattermole, P Cameron
Accident & Emergency Medicine Academic Unit, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Trauma & Emergency Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong
 
 
Key Messages
1. Compared with the Hong Kong norm, initial survivors of moderate and major trauma had reduced mean SF-36 physical component score persisting for at least a year.
2. The SF-36 physical component score is most reduced and slowest to recover in patients with spinal and extremity injury.
3. Compared with the Hong Kong norm, initial survivors of moderate and major trauma had reduced mean SF-36 mental component score initially but it exceeded the norm by 6 months after injury.
4. Hong Kong possibly lags behind Australia in terms of potential improvement in 6- and 12-month post-injury functional outcome, but a larger study is required to confirm this.