The Price of Trauma Team Activation for Low Risk Pediatric Motor Vehicle Collisions

Purpose Pediatric trauma care accounts for a significant portion of medical spending in the United States. Previous literature has shown that trauma team activation may not improve patient outcomes, especially for low risk injuries. This study aimed to estimate the costs and resource utilization associated with trauma team activation for low risk pediatric motor vehicle collisions (MVC). Methods This was a retrospective cross sectional study of all pediatric patients presenting for evaluation after an MVC at a large, urban pediatric emergency department (ED) with a level 1 trauma …