The death triad, including coagulopathy, hypothermia, and acidosis, is shown to be a strong predictor of mortality in trauma patients. We aimed to investigate whether the inclusion of hypotension, defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 60 mmHg, as a fourth factor in the death triad would comprise a death tetrad to help stratify mortality risk in trauma patients. A total of 3361 adult trauma patients between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2019 were allocated into groups to investigate whether hypotension matters in determining the mortality outcome of trauma patients who possess 1−3 death triad components compared to those without any component. Hypotension was added to the death tetrad, and the adjusted mortality outcome was compared among groups with 0−4 death tetrad components. Herein, we showed that SBP < 60 mmHg could be used to identify patients at risk of mortality among patients with one or two death triad components. Patients with one, two, and three death tetrad components had respective adjusted mortality rates of 3.69-, 10.10-, and 40.18-fold, determined by sex, age, and comorbidities. The mortality rate of trauma patients with all the four death tetrad components was 100%. The study suggested that hypotension, defined as an SBP < 60 mmHg, may act as a proper death tetrad component to stratify the mortality risk of trauma patients.
Keywords: acidosis; coagulopathy; death tetrad; death triad; hypotension; hypothermia; mortality; trauma.