Standardized Protocol for Chest Tube Management for Trauma Patients Significantly Decreases Complications

Table 1

Patient demographics.

	Precohort (n = 43)	Postcohort (n = 100)	value
Age in years (SD); Min-Max^†	48 (17); 18–91	51 (21); 17–97	0.45
Male gender^‡	58% (25)	70% (70)	0.18
Blunt mechanism^‡	91% (39)	95% (95)	0.45

SD = standard deviation. ^†Mann–Whitney U-tests were used to compare quantitative variables, and ^‡Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare the categorized variables across all groups. These values are given as the mean and standard deviation, with a range of minimum to maximum values. The remaining values are given as a percentage of the specific category. Gender options included male or female. Mechanisms included blunt or penetrating.