Evaluation of Probability of Survival Using Trauma and Injury Severity Score Method in Severe Neurotrauma Patients

OBJECTIVE: Despite several limitations, the Trauma Injury Severity Score (TRISS) is normally used to evaluate trauma systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preventable trauma death rate using the TRISS method in severe trauma patients with traumatic brain injury using our emergency department data. METHODS: The use of the TRISS formula has been suggested to consider definitively preventable death (DP); the deaths occurred with a probability of survival (Ps) higher than 0.50 and possible preventable death (PP); the deaths occurred with a Ps between 0.50 and 0.25. Deaths in patients with a calculated Ps of less than 0.25 is considered as no-preventable death (NP). A retrospective case review of deaths attributed to mechanical trauma occurring between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011 was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 565 consecutive severe trauma patients with ISS>15 or Revised Trauma Score<7 were admitted in our institute. We excluded a total of 24 patients from our analysis : 22 patients younger than 15 years, and 2 patients with burned injury. Of these, 221 patients with head injury were analyzed in the final study. One hundred eighty-two patients were in DP, 13 in PP and 24 in NP. The calculated predicted mortality rates were 11.13%, 59.04%, and 90.09%. The actual mortality rates were 12.64%, 61.547%, and 91.67%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Although it needs to make some improvements, the present study showed that TRISS performed well in predicting survival of traumatic brain injured patients. Also, TRISS is relatively exact and acceptable compared with actual data, as a simple and time-saving method.

Feasibility and Early Outcomes of Intensivist-Led Critical Care after Major Trauma in the Korean ICU

PURPOSE: Substantial evidence supports the benefits of an intensivist model of critical care delivery. However, currently, this mode of critical care delivery has not been widely adopted in Korea. We hypothesized that intensivist-led critical care is feasible and would improve ICU mortality after major trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A trauma registry from May 2009 to April 2011 was reviewed retrospectively. We evaluated the relationship between modes of ICU care (open vs. intensivist) and in-hospital mortality following severe injury [Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15]. An intensivist-model was defined as ICU care delivered by a board-certified physician who had no other clinical responsibilities outside the ICU and who is primarily available to the critically ill or injured patients. ISS and Revised Trauma Score were used as measure of injury severity. The Trauma and Injury Severity Score methodology was used to calculate each individual patient's probability of survival. RESULTS: Of the 251 patients, 57 patients were treated by an intensivist [intensivist group (IG)] while 194 patients were not [non-intensivist group (NIG)]. The ISS of IG was significantly higher than that for NIG (26.5 vs. 22.3, p=0.023). The hospital mortality rate for IG was significantly lower than that for NIG (15.8% and 27.8%, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The intensivist model of critical care is feasible, and there is room for improvement in the care of major trauma patients. Although trauma systems take time to mature, future studies are needed to evaluate the best model of critical care delivery for severely injured patients in Korea.

Perfil demográfico y clínico de pacientes traumatizados en una institución de cuarto nivel de complejidad, Medellín 2005-2008 / Demographic and clinical profile of trauma patients: a fourth-level institution, Medellin, 2005-2008

Objetivo: describir el comportamiento demográfico y clínico de los pacientes traumatizados de una institución de cuarto nivel de complejidad que ingresaron entre el 2005 y el 2008. Metodología: estudio descriptivo retrospectivo basado en información de pacientes que ingresaron a urgencias y hospitalización. Se estimaron frecuencias y porcentajes para las variables demográficas y algunas clínicas. Finalmente, se realizó un muestreo aleatorio simple para estimar la puntuación de gravedad de las lesiones (trauma and injury severity score-triss). Resultados: en este período ingresaron 165736 pacientes, de ellos, 57382 correspondieron a ingresos por trauma (35% del total). El sexo masculino y el grupo de edad de 20-29 años fueron los más afectados. La causa de ingreso predominante fue la de accidentes de tránsito, seguida por otros tipos de accidentes (caídas, quemaduras, ahogamientos). Fueron hospitalizados 6721 pacientes, de los cuales fallecieron 278, con tasa de mortalidad global de 4,1. La parte del cuerpo más afectada en estos pacientes fueron las extremidades (42%) y los traumas en cabeza y cuello (19%). Para estimar la triss, se analizaron en total 347 pacientes. El índice de severidad del trauma (iss) calculado fue mayor de 49 en 3,17% de los pacientes analizados. La escala revisada de trauma (rts) promedio fue de 7507. Las cifras de presión arterial sistólica y frecuencia respiratoria presentaron una media de 121,948 mmHg y 18,659 min respectivamente, y en la escala de coma de Glasgow, 30 pacientes obtuvieron un puntaje menor o igual a 8. El total de muertes esperadas correspondió a 17 pacientes y el total de muertes observadas a 19. Finalmente, la triss calculada fue de 1,097...

Objective: to describe the demographic and clinical behavior of trauma inpatients admitted in an institution of fourth level of complexity between 2005 and 2008. Methodology: descriptive and retrospective study based on information from patients admitted to the emergency room and to stay hospitalized. Frequencies and percentages for both demographic and inical variables were estimated. Finally, a simple random sampling was conducted to estimate the trauma and injury severity score (triss). Results: during this period a total amount of 165736 inpatients were admitted; 57382 of them were admitted for trauma (35% Perfil demográfico y clínico de pacientes traumatizados: en una institución de cuarto nivel. Medellín 2005-2008 Facultad Nacional de Salud Pública 243 of the total). The male gender and the 20-29 years of age groups were the most affected by trauma. The predominant cause of admission was traffic accidents followed by other types of accidents (falls, burns, drowning). 6721 patients were hospitalized, 278 of which died while the general mortality rate was 4,1. The most affected body part in those patients was the body limbs (42%) and trauma to the head and neck (19%). In order to estimate the triss, a total amount of 347 patients we analyzed. The estimated triss scored more than 49 for 3,17% of the patients studied, the average was 7,507 rts, the systolic blood pressure and the respiratory rate showed an average of 121,948 mmHg and 18,659 minutes respectively, and according to the Glasgow coma scale, 30 patients scored less than or equal to 8. The total amount of expected deaths was 17 patients and the total amount of observed deaths was 19. Finally, the triss calculated was 1.097...

Early Traumatic Deaths

PURPOSE: In Korea, trauma is the 3rd most common cause of death. The trauma treatment system is divided into pre-hospital and hospital stages. Deaths occurring in the pre-hospital stage are 50% of the total death, and 20% of those are deaths that are preventable. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to calculate the preventable death rates caused by trauma in our current pre-hospital system, to analyze the appropriateness of the treatment of traumatized patients and to draw a conclusions about the problems we have. METHODS: The study was done on traumatized patients who expired at the emergency department from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2009, at the Korea University Medical Centers in Anam, Guro and Ansan. The data on the patients were reviewed retrospectively based on characteristics, conditions on admission and trauma severity. The patient's RTS (revised trauma score) and ISS (injury severity score) was calculated. Preventable death rate was calculated by TRISS (the trauma score-injury severity score). RESULTS: A total of 168 patients were enrolled. All patients were intubated and underwent CPR. Of the total, 72% patients were male, and traffic accidents were the most common form of trauma (52.4%), falls being second (28.6%). Head injury, solitary or multiple, was the most common cause of death (55.4%). Thirty-eight (38, 22.6%) deaths were preventable. The 22.6% preventable death rate consisted of 15.5% potentially preventable and 7.1% definitely preventable deaths. Based on a logistic regression analysis, the relationship between the time intervals until transfusion and imaging and death was statistically significant in the hospital stage. In the pre-hospital stage, transit time from the site of the injury to the hospital showed a significant relationship with the mortality rate. CONCLUSION: One hundred sixty-eight (168) patients died of trauma at the 3 hospitals of Korea University Medical Center. The TRISS method was used to calculate the preventable death rate, with a result of 22.6%. The only factor that was significant related to the preventable death rate in the pre-hospital stage was the time from injury to hospital arrival, and the time intervals until transfusion and imaging were the two factors that showed significance in the hospital stage. Shortening the time of treatment in the field and transferring the patient to the hospital as quickly as possible is the most important life-saving step in the pre-hospital stage. In the hospital stage, the primary survey, resuscitation and diagnosis should proceed simultaneously.

Clinical Investigation of Isolated Chest Injury

PURPOSE: Injuries are the third leading cause of death in Korea. Isolated chest injury is not uncommon and shows high mortality and morbidity. Several scoring systems are used for triage and stratification for trauma patients, but no standard system is accepted. We aimed to analyze the accuracy of identification of isolated chest injury by using several scoring systems. METHODS: We reviewed a total of 75 patients admitted with isolated chest injury between January 2005 and October 2005. Medical records were reviewed by using the Injury Severity Score (ISS), the Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS). The scoring systems were compared by using statistics methods. RESULTS: The overall predictive accuracy of the TRISS was 12.5%, 12.0% greater than those of the RTS and the ISS. By using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve, the TRISS showed an excellent discriminative power (AUROC 0.931) compared to the ISS (AUROC 0.926) and the RTS (AUROC 0.872). CONCLUSION: Compared with the RTS and the ISS, the TRISS is an easily applied tool with excellent prognostic abilities for isolated chest trauma patients. However, the TRISS, the ISS, and the RTS showed high specificity and low sensitivity, so another scoring system is required for triage and stratification of isolated chest injury patients.

Application of the TRISS method to evaluate trauma care

The TRISS (Revised Trauma Score and Injury Severity Score) method of trauma care evaluation was applied to 476 consecutive trauma patients admitted to our medical center over a 6-month period. Male to female ratio was 8:1, with a mean age of 24.7 years. Penetrating injury was the most common mechanism of injury (62%), with the chest as the most common region injured (36%). Mean probability of survival of 476 patients was 0.9802 and a predicted mortality of 9.4 patients. The overall mortality was 5.4 per cent with 26 actual deaths. As 93 per cent of patients had injuries to isolated anatomic regions, using the TRISS method, assigning numerical values to noninjured anatomic regions mathematically increased their probability of survival, even though the isolated injury was life-threatening. Consideration should be taken before adapting the TRISS method as the gold standard in evaluating trauma care in the local setting