Factors associated with outcome in blunt aortic injury: a population-based study.

A population-based study was conducted for two contiguous states representing a population of 9.1 million to determine whether age, injury severity score, major complications, and preexisting conditions contribute to the outcome of patients diagnosed with blunt traumatic aortic injury. A secondary analysis reviewed patients with blunt aortic injury admitted over a six-year period to a trauma center located in one of the states to examine other more detailed factors related to mortality. Age was the only variable that correlated statistically with mortality in both populations analyzed. (Region P = .004; trauma center P = .0012) The severity of injury showed a tendency for decreased survival with increasing injury severity score. The elderly (age > or = 55) in both data sets sustained higher mortality from blunt aortic injury. In the trauma center population, the elderly had more delay in diagnosis than the younger patient population.