Publications

BACKGROUND

Observational and trial data have revealed significant improvement in cardiogenic shock (CS) mortality due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after introducing early coronary revascularization. Less is known about CS mortality due to heart failure (HF), which is increasingly recognized as a distinct entity from AMI-CS.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In this nationwide observational study, the CDC WONDER database was used to identify national trends in age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) due to CS (HF vs. AMI related) per 100,000 people aged 35-84. AAMR from AMI-CS decreased significantly from 1999 to 2009 (AAPC: -6.9% [95%CI -7.7, -6.1]) then stabilized from 2009 to 2020. By contrast, HF-CS associated AAMR rose steadily from 2009 to 2020 (AAPC: 13.3% [95%CI 11.4,15.2]). The mortality rate was almost twice as high in males compared to females in both AMI-CS and HF-CS throughout the study period. HF-CS mortality in the non-Hispanic Black population is increasing more quickly than that of the non-Hispanic White population (AAMR in 2020: 4.40 vs. 1.97 in 100,000). The AMI-CS mortality rate has been consistently higher in rural than urban areas (30% higher in 1999 and 28% higher in 2020).

CONCLUSIONS

These trends highlight the fact that HF-CS and AMI-CS represent distinct clinical entities. While mortality associated with AMI-CS has primarily declined over the last two decades, the mortality related to HF-CS has increased significantly, particularly over the last decade, and is increasing rapidly among individuals younger than 65. Accordingly, a dramatic change in the demographics of CS patients in modern intensive care units is expected.

INTRODUCTION

Growing research indicates transportation injury surveillance using police collision reporting alone underrepresents injury to vulnerable groups, including pedestrians, cyclists, and people of color. This reflects differing reporting patterns and non-clinicians' challenge in accurately evaluating injury severity. To our knowledge, San Francisco is the first U.S. city to link and map hospital and police injury data. Analysis of linked data injury patterns informs interventions supporting traffic fatality and injury prevention goals.

METHODS

Injury and fatality records 2013-2015 were collected from San Francisco Police, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Medical Examiner, and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG). Probabilistic linkage was conducted using LinkSolv9.0 on match variables collision/admission time, name, birthdate, sex, travel mode, and geographic collision location.

RESULTS

From 2013-2015, this study identified 17,000+ transportation-related injuries on public roadways in San Francisco. Twenty-six percent (n = 4,415) appeared in both police and ZSFG sources. Linked injury records represent 39% of police records (N = 11,403) and 43% of hospital records (N = 10,223). Among hospital records, 34% of cyclist, 38% of motor vehicle occupant, 61% of pedestrian, and 54% of motorcyclist records linked with a police record. Linkage rate varied by travel mode even after controlling for injury severity. Transportation-injured ZSFG-treated patients lacking police reports were more often cyclists, male, Hispanic or Black, and less often occupants of motor vehicles compared to those with injuries captured only in police reports.

CONCLUSIONS

Incorporating hospital and EMS spatial data into injury surveillance systems historically reliant on police reports offers trifold benefits. First, linkage captures injuries absent in police data, adding data on populations empirically vulnerable to injury. Second, it improves injury severity assessment. Finally, linked data better informs and targets interventions serving injury-burdened populations and road users, advancing transportation injury prevention.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Linkage closes data gaps, improving ability to quantify injury and develop evidence-based interventions for vulnerable groups.