Variable Complication Reporting in Canadian Trauma Registries

In a comparison of nine trauma registries in Canada, researchers found significant variability in the abstraction and definitions of complications reported. Of the 53 identified complications, 40% were recorded by only one registry, and 56% of those collected by more than one registry had different definitions. This diversity in reporting complicates reliable benchmarking, emphasizing the need for standardization in complication reporting across trauma registries.