Although obesity in trauma patients is accepted as a risk factor for postoperative complications, recent literature offers conflicting evidence regarding the effect of body mass index (BMI) on mortality in trauma patients undergoing laparotomy. To address this question, we examined the patient population of a Level 1 Trauma Center during a 3-year period to compare mortality rates and other outcomes between BMI groups undergoing laparotomy. Through retrospective chart review of electronic medical records, with subsequent stratification of data based on BMI, we found that mortality, injury severity score, and hospital length of stay all increase significantly with each incremental increase in BMI class. From these data, we concluded that higher BMI class leads to greater morbidity and mortality in trauma patients undergoing laparotomy at this institution.
Keywords: acute care surgery; bariatrics; obesity; trauma; trauma acute care.