Comparing processes of pediatric trauma care at children's hospitals versus adult hospitals.

Comparing treatment of pediatric injury by hospital type or physician expertise has often created more controversy than conformity. Three key components that help define quality of care include infrastructure, process, and outcome. This report highlights studies that compared processes of care by physician and hospital expertise with regard to injured children. During the past 15 years, numerous studies have compared both hospital and physician expertise in the processes of pediatric trauma care. From these studies, it is clear that evaluation of processes of care is equally important as evaluating outcome, especially when mortality is the outcome variable. Future studies should examine other aspects of care in addition to surgical processes that might impact either rates of complications or long-term outcomes.