Trauma Surgery

Injury severity quantification using the Injury Severity Score (ISS) is the standard for anatomic injury assessment in trauma. The ISS divides the body into six regions, assigning an Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score (1-6) to each, with the ISS calculated as the sum of squares of the three most severely injured regions. An ISS >15 defines major trauma and correlates with mortality risk.

The Revised Trauma Score (RTS) combines the Glasgow Coma Scale, systolic blood pressure, and respiratory rate into a physiologic severity score used for triage and outcomes prediction. The ABC (Assessment of Blood Consumption) score uses four parameters (penetrating mechanism, positive FAST, arrival SBP ≤90, arrival heart rate ≥120) to predict the need for massive transfusion.

Trauma triage and transfer decisions follow the CDC Field Triage Decision Scheme and ACS Trauma Center verification criteria. The Cribari matrix evaluates trauma team activation appropriateness, while survival probability models like TRISS combine ISS, RTS, and age to benchmark trauma center outcomes.