Recovery and Quality of Life After Trauma: A 6-Month Follow-Up Study

BACKGROUND: Injuries were the most common cause of hospitalization in Sweden in 2017. There is a lack of knowledge about trauma recovery and its relation to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after hospitalization due to minor trauma. This study aimed to prospectively evaluate recovery and HRQoL at discharge from hospital and 3 and 6 months after the trauma. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of data from a prospective follow-up study. Fifty-seven patients who sustained physical trauma were included. Recovery was measured with postoperative recovery profile and HRQoL 3 and 6 months after discharge. The association between the outcomes was analyzed, as well as the impact of gender, age, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and trauma mechanism using nonparametric statistics. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in recovery and HRQoL between discharge and 3 months after the trauma (p < .001) as well as between 3 and 6 months after the trauma (p < .001) except for EQ-5D VAS scale (p = .222). However, only 14 (25%) patients viewed themselves as fully recovered 6 months after the incident. Correlation between recovery and HRQoL increased after discharge and was at its strongest 6 months after the trauma (rs > .071). CONCLUSION: Trauma mechanism has an impact on recovery but not gender, age, or ISS score. Most patients did not consider themselves fully recovered even at 6 months postinjury, indicating that they require additional support to manage their recovery.