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Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) é um índice que permite calcular probabilidade de sobrevida de pacientes traumatizados. Para seu cálculo são necessárias as informações: idade; tipo de trauma - penetrante ou contuso; valor do Revised Trauma Score (RTS); e pontuação do Injury Severity Score (ISS). Em 1997 foi realizada uma revisão do ISS com o intuito de melhorar sua acurácia na determinação da gravidade do trauma. Essa revisão resultou em mudança no cálculo desse índice e, consequentemente, em uma nova versão, o New Injury Severity Score (NISS). Resultados de estudos têm indicado que o NISS se iguala ou supera o ISS na previsão de mortalidade. Procurou-se neste estudo verificar se a substituição do ISS pelo NISS, na fórmula original do TRISS, melhora sua estimação de sobrevida. Trata-se de pesquisa retrospectiva realizada no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. A população foi constituída por 533 pacientes traumatizados atendidos e internados no Pronto-Socorro deste hospital pelo período de um ano. Foi realizada análise descritiva das características das vítimas e calculadas as medidas de posição para as variáveis contínuas. Para verificar qual o melhor indicador (TRISS ou NTRISS) para probabilidade de sobrevida e o melhor ponto de corte, foi utilizada a curva ROC. Os resultados foram confrontados com as mortes e sobrevidas observadas com o intuito de se identificar a fórmula mais acurada para cálculo da probabilidade de sobrevida. Fizeram parte do estudo pacientes traumatizados entre 18 e 95 anos, sendo a maioria jovens (61,9%), do sexo masculino (80,5%). Os acidentes de transporte foram as causas externas mais frequentes (61,9%), e, consequentemente, houve predomínio de trauma contuso (87,1%). Do total de pacientes, 82,9% foram atendidos por unidades sistematizadas de atendimento pré-hospitalar. A região mais freqüentemente traumatizada foi a superfície externa (63,0%), seguida por cabeça e pescoço (55,5%). Os pacientes estiveram internados por uma média de 11,0 dias (+ 18,0). Dos 533 pacientes, 42,2% necessitaram de internação em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva. A taxa de sobrevida foi de 76,9%. A maioria dos indivíduos (54,5%) apresentou valor de RTS de 7 a 7,84. O escore do ISS e do NISS variou de 0 a 75, com predomínio do escore de 9 a 15 (40,0%) para o ISS e de 16 a 24 (25,5%) para o NISS. O valor do TRISS e do NTRISS variou de 0 a 100,0%; probabilidade de sobrevida maior ou igual a 75,0% foi apresentada por 83,4% dos pacientes segundo o TRISS e por 78,4% dos pacientes de acordo com o NTRISS. O TRISS superestimou a probabilidade de sobrevida dos pacientes traumatizados. Houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre a previsão de sobrevida dada pelo TRISS e NTRISS, e o NTRISS foi mais assertivo que o TRISS para prever sobrevida dos pacientes atendidos neste centro de trauma / The Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) is an index that permits the calculation of survival probability in trauma victims. The following information is necessary to perform this calculation: age, trauma type -penetrating or contusion; value from the Revised Trauma Score (RTS); and the scores from the Injury Severity Score (ISS). In 1997, a revision was done to the ISS to improve its accuracy for determining the severity of traumas, thus resulting in a new version called the New Injury Severity Score (NISS). Studies have shown that this NISS is equal to or greater than the ISS in the prediction of mortality. The objective of this study was to verify if substituting the ISS with the NISS, in the original TRISS form, improved the survival rate estimate. This retrospective study included 533 trauma victims who were attended and interned in the emergency room during a period of 1 year, in \"Hospital das Clínicas\" of the Medical School of the University of Sao Paulo. A descriptive analysis of the characteristics of the victims was performed and the position measurements for the continuous variables were calculated. An ROC curve was used to verify which would be the best indicator (TRISS or NTRISS) for calculating the survival probability. The results were compared with the deaths and survivors in order to indentify the most accurate formula for calculating survival probability. Included in this study were trauma victims, between the ages of 18 to 95, with the majority being youths (61.9%) and of the male gender (80.5%). Contributing causes were predominantly from motor vehicle accidents (61.9%), and predominantly with contusions (87.1%). Of the total victims, 82.9% were treated in first aid clinics. The most frequent trauma regions were superficial (63%) followed by the head and neck (55.5%) The victims were interned on an average of 11 days. ( +18.0). Of the 533 victims 42.2% were interned in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the survival rate was 76.9%. The majority of individuals (54.5%) had RTS scores between 7 and 7.84. The ISS and NISS score varied from 0 to 75, with the average ISS score ranging from 9-15 (40.0%) and the NISS score from 16-24 (25.5%). The TRISS and NTRISS scores varied between 0 and 100 %; probability of survival equal to or greater than 75.0% was presented for 83.4% of the victims according to TRISS and 78.4% according to NTRISS thus, the TRISS overestimated the probability of survival in trauma victims. There was a statistically significant difference in the estimate of survivability data between the TRISS and NTRISS with the latter being the more accurate scale for predicting survivability among the victims treated in this trauma center

Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) é um índice que permite calcular probabilidade de sobrevida de pacientes traumatizados. Para seu cálculo são necessárias as informações: idade; tipo de trauma - penetrante ou contuso; valor do Revised Trauma Score (RTS); e pontuação do Injury Severity Score (ISS). Em 1997 foi realizada uma revisão do ISS com o intuito de melhorar sua acurácia na determinação da gravidade do trauma. Essa revisão resultou em mudança no cálculo desse índice e, consequentemente, em uma nova versão, o New Injury Severity Score (NISS). Resultados de estudos têm indicado que o NISS se iguala ou supera o ISS na previsão de mortalidade. Procurou-se neste estudo verificar se a substituição do ISS pelo NISS, na fórmula original do TRISS, melhora sua estimação de sobrevida. Trata-se de pesquisa retrospectiva realizada no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. A população foi constituída por 533 pacientes traumatizados atendidos e internados no Pronto-Socorro deste hospital pelo período de um ano. Foi realizada análise descritiva das características das vítimas e calculadas as medidas de posição para as variáveis contínuas. Para verificar qual o melhor indicador (TRISS ou NTRISS) para probabilidade de sobrevida e o melhor ponto de corte, foi utilizada a curva ROC. Os resultados foram confrontados com as mortes e sobrevidas observadas com o intuito de se identificar a fórmula mais acurada para cálculo da probabilidade de sobrevida. Fizeram parte do estudo pacientes traumatizados entre 18 e 95 anos, sendo a maioria jovens (61,9%), do sexo masculino (80,5%). Os acidentes de transporte foram as causas externas mais frequentes (61,9%), e, consequentemente, houve predomínio de trauma contuso (87,1%). Do total de pacientes, 82,9% foram atendidos por unidades sistematizadas de atendimento pré-hospitalar. A região mais freqüentemente traumatizada foi a superfície externa (63,0%), seguida por cabeça e pescoço (55,5%). Os pacientes estiveram internados por uma média de 11,0 dias (+ 18,0). Dos 533 pacientes, 42,2% necessitaram de internação em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva. A taxa de sobrevida foi de 76,9%. A maioria dos indivíduos (54,5%) apresentou valor de RTS de 7 a 7,84. O escore do ISS e do NISS variou de 0 a 75, com predomínio do escore de 9 a 15 (40,0%) para o ISS e de 16 a 24 (25,5%) para o NISS. O valor do TRISS e do NTRISS variou de 0 a 100,0%; probabilidade de sobrevida maior ou igual a 75,0% foi apresentada por 83,4% dos pacientes segundo o TRISS e por 78,4% dos pacientes de acordo com o NTRISS. O TRISS superestimou a probabilidade de sobrevida dos pacientes traumatizados. Houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre a previsão de sobrevida dada pelo TRISS e NTRISS, e o NTRISS foi mais assertivo que o TRISS para prever sobrevida dos pacientes atendidos neste centro de trauma / The Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) is an index that permits the calculation of survival probability in trauma victims. The following information is necessary to perform this calculation: age, trauma type -penetrating or contusion; value from the Revised Trauma Score (RTS); and the scores from the Injury Severity Score (ISS). In 1997, a revision was done to the ISS to improve its accuracy for determining the severity of traumas, thus resulting in a new version called the New Injury Severity Score (NISS). Studies have shown that this NISS is equal to or greater than the ISS in the prediction of mortality. The objective of this study was to verify if substituting the ISS with the NISS, in the original TRISS form, improved the survival rate estimate. This retrospective study included 533 trauma victims who were attended and interned in the emergency room during a period of 1 year, in \"Hospital das Clínicas\" of the Medical School of the University of Sao Paulo. A descriptive analysis of the characteristics of the victims was performed and the position measurements for the continuous variables were calculated. An ROC curve was used to verify which would be the best indicator (TRISS or NTRISS) for calculating the survival probability. The results were compared with the deaths and survivors in order to indentify the most accurate formula for calculating survival probability. Included in this study were trauma victims, between the ages of 18 to 95, with the majority being youths (61.9%) and of the male gender (80.5%). Contributing causes were predominantly from motor vehicle accidents (61.9%), and predominantly with contusions (87.1%). Of the total victims, 82.9% were treated in first aid clinics. The most frequent trauma regions were superficial (63%) followed by the head and neck (55.5%) The victims were interned on an average of 11 days. ( +18.0). Of the 533 victims 42.2% were interned in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the survival rate was 76.9%. The majority of individuals (54.5%) had RTS scores between 7 and 7.84. The ISS and NISS score varied from 0 to 75, with the average ISS score ranging from 9-15 (40.0%) and the NISS score from 16-24 (25.5%). The TRISS and NTRISS scores varied between 0 and 100 %; probability of survival equal to or greater than 75.0% was presented for 83.4% of the victims according to TRISS and 78.4% according to NTRISS thus, the TRISS overestimated the probability of survival in trauma victims. There was a statistically significant difference in the estimate of survivability data between the TRISS and NTRISS with the latter being the more accurate scale for predicting survivability among the victims treated in this trauma center

Master of Science / Department of Civil Engineering / Sunanda Dissanayake / The older population (>65 years) numbered 36.8 million in the United States in 2005. By 2030, the number is estimated to be 71.5 million, almost twice as many. An increase in the older population means an increase in older drivers as well. As a result of the natural aging process, the possibility of older drivers being involved in crashes and sustaining severe injuries increases, according to past findings. The objective of this study was to identify characteristics of older drivers involved in crashes in Kansas as well as associated safety issues, which can be used to suggest potential countermeasures for improving safety. A detailed characteristic analysis was carried out for older, middle-aged, and younger drivers involved in crashes, using crash data obtained from the Kansas Department of Transportation, and comparisons were made among the groups. However, the characteristic analysis had no basis with regard to injury severity and hence, univariate statistical analysis was carried out to highlight these severities. In addition, a survey was conducted focusing on identifying older-driver behaviors, potential problems, and level of exposure to various conditions. From the severity analysis, it was found that injury severity of older drivers in crashes occurring on rural roads was significantly higher compared to those on urban roads. Therefore, a detailed analysis was carried out using the decomposition method and ordered probit modeling to identify contributing factors leading to the situation. According to the findings, the number of older male drivers involved in crashes was higher compared to older female drivers, even though older driver licensees’ data indicate the opposite. Most of the older-driver-involved crashes occurred under good environmental conditions and at intersections. A majority of older drivers had difficulties associated with left- turn maneuvering and preferred to avoid high-traffic roads and other demanding conditions. Exposure to inclement weather conditions and difficulties associated with merging, diverging, and identifying speeds and distance of oncoming traffic have lead to higher crash propensity. In rural areas, driving in the wrong direction, failing to comply with traffic signs and signals, and speeding were identified as frequent contributing factors in high severe crashes.

Injury is a global health problem and in the United States is the leading cause of death for persons aged 1 – 44 years. The primary causes of trauma related death are head injury and hemorrhage; hemorrhagic shock is difficult to recognize in the first hours after trauma. Identification of specific and optimal criteria upon which to base effective triage decisions for trauma patients has been an elusive goal for decades. The purpose of this dissertation was to identify measures available in the prehospital phase of care and in the Emergency Department that should be included for a more comprehensive definition of the trauma patient who will require trauma center care to better allocate trauma care and resources available. The first paper is a critical review of early physiologic markers of occult tissue hypoperfuson in which we examine markers of cardiovascular function and markers of tissue perfusion. In this review, we found surrogate measures of tissue perfusion include shock index as a measure of hemodynamic stability and acid-base indicators as measures of tissue oxygenation. This review guides the variable selection for the research study. The second paper is a report of a study conducted to examine shock index calculated from the first available prehospital vital signs and first available emergency department vital signs as a predictor of mortality within 48-hours in trauma compared to the Injury Severity Score. Shock index can be calculated in real-time during the course of treatment and provides continuous input into the ever changing condition of the patient. Injury severity score is calculated once, at the time of hospital discharge and is used primarily as a marker for comparison of injury severity in research and quality measures of trauma care. The study consisted of 516,156 trauma patient data reported to the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) in 2009. The results revealed SI as calculated in both the pre-hospital phase of care by Emergency Medical Services and in the Emergency Department to be significant independent predictors of mortality within forty-eight hours from trauma injuries. The third paper is a report of a study conducted to examine potential markers of occult tissue hypoperfusion within forty-eight hours of injury. The variables included four major variable categories, physiologic measures, anatomic measures, injury severity and presence of reported comorbid illness. The variable most predictive of death from trauma related injuries within forty-eight hours was the need for intubation. The findings from this dissertation provide further evidence of the value of multiple physiologic markers in early recognition of occult tissue hypoperfusion. Data from neither the review of the literature nor the two data-based studies are sufficient to identify a brief, accurate, easily used clinical instrument. Further work is needed to develop a clinically useful instrument to identify the occult tissue hypoperfusion in the trauma patient.

Ligia J. Zarate College of Nursing Master of Science Peripheral catheter-related phlebitis is the inflammation of a superficial vein that can lead to infection or thrombus formation if untreated. About 150 million peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVC) are inserted in the United States each year with phlebitis rates reported between 5% and 70%. Many PIVCs are started on trauma patients, but the rate of phlebitis in trauma patients whether the PIVC is started outside the emergency department (ED) or inside the ED is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this pilot study was to determine phlebitis rates in trauma patients when PIVC's are started inside or outside the emergency department. Variables investigated, which may influence phlebitis rates were duration of time the catheter was in place, the anatomical placement site of the PIVC, the catheter gauge, where the PIVC initially was placed (inside or outside the ED), and the injury severity score (ISS). This was a prospective descriptive design. Results indicated 432 catheters were placed inside or outside the ED in trauma patients that met the inclusion criteria. The overall phlebitis rate was 5.79 %. The rate of phlebitis when the PIVC was started inside the ED was 2.92%. The rate of phlebitis when the PIVC was started outside the ED was 6.94%. If the PIVC was started outside the ED by EMTs the rate was 6.09%. When the PIVC was started outside the ED by paramedics the rate was 7.78%. There was no significant difference in rates of phlebitis according to where the PIVC was started when a Chi Square analysis was performed. No variables predicted phlebitis no matter where the PIVC was started when regression analyses were conducted. The rate of phlebitis in PIVCs started in the ED, or by EMTs or Paramedics outside the ED in this study was similar to and low according to the literature. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests removal of the PIVC within 48 hours if placed under emergency situations. However in this study, phlebitis rates of trauma patients meet the benchmark of best practice and perhaps removal of the PIVC within 48 hours should be reconsidered. Complete documentation of medical records was 87.4%. However, best practice of recording information and patient response to treatment should be higher.

In this study, we capture the moderating effect of aggressive driving behavior while assessing the influence of a comprehensive set of variables on injury severity. In doing so, we are able to account for the indirect effects of variables on injury severity through their influence on aggressive driving behavior, as well as the direct effect of variables on injury severity. The methodology used in this study to accommodate the moderating effect of aggressive driving behavior takes the form of two models – one for aggressive driving and another for injury severity. These are appropriately linked to obtain the indirect and direct effects of variables. The data for estimation is obtained from the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Study (NMVCCS). From an empirical standpoint, we consider a fine age categorization until 20 years of age when examining age effects on aggressive driving behavior and injury severity. There are several important results from the empirical analysis. Young drivers (especially novice drivers between 16-17 years of age), drivers who are not wearing seat belt, under the influence of alcohol, not having a valid license, and driving a pickup are found to be most likely to behave aggressively. Situational, vehicle, and roadway factors such as young drivers traveling with young passengers, young drivers driving an SUV or a pick-up truck, driving during the morning rush hour, and driving on roads with high speed limits are also found to trigger aggressive driving behavior. In terms of vehicle occupants, the safest situation from a driver injury standpoint is when there are 2 or more passengers in the vehicle, at least one of whom is above the age of 20 years. These and many other results are discussed, along with implications of the result for graduated driving licensing (GDL) programs. / text

Intra-articular fractures (IAFs) are challenging injuries to study and treat clinically. Following IAF, different joints and even different regions within joints have been shown to have varying degrees of tolerance to injury severity and surgical reduction accuracy. Therefore, to determine the true effects of surgical reduction accuracy on post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) development, more sensitive and objective measures of articular injury and restoration are needed. To that end, this work details the development of objective measures of injury severity and models of restoration. Two hypotheses were posed: that surgical reduction accuracy is correlated with injury severity, and that injury severity more greatly influences outcomes than the surgical reduction. To quantify the effects of acute injury severity on PTOA development, objective measures of the energy involved in fracturing as well as the degree of damage to the articular surface were created. Differences in the area over which the damage was delivered were also accounted for as a normalization of the fracture energy to a given joint. Inclusion of this latter factor enabled more accurate study of damage to the important areas of the bone. From these measures, a combined severity score was created that could be applied to any IAF. It was demonstrated to be predictive of the degree of PTOA development in the hip, hindfoot, and ankle. The effects of surgical reduction accuracy were measured through contact stress, a measure that detects when forces are concentrated over small areas. When these stresses are too high and persist over time, they are associated with chronic joint degeneration. Therefore, the exposure to the contact stresses during a simulated walking gait after fracture reconstruction was computed for each patient. The over-exposures computed over this gait cycle were strongly associated with PTOA development in all 3 joints studied. By measuring injury severity and reduction accuracy on the same patients with IAFs of the hip, hindfoot, or ankle, relative contributions to PTOA risk were determined for each joint. Significant correlations between injury severity and reduction accuracy were found supporting our first hypothesis. The second hypothesis was refuted, as reduction accuracy was also significantly associated with PTOA development in all 3 joints. An overall model combining the injury severity and reduction accuracy measure for each case was created to assess the total mechanical contributions to PTOA. This model achieved 100% accuracy in the ankle, 88% in the calcaneus, and 91% in the acetabulum.

This thesis investigates the associations between crash outcomes, the existence and type of driver distraction as well as driver’s age. The crash outcomes considered in this thesis consist of the type of crash as well as the injury severity sustained by occupants involved in the crash. An ordered logit model was built to predict the likelihood of severe injuries and a multinomial model was developed to predict the likelihood that a driver will be involved in one of three common crash types: singular, angular, and rearend. In these models, various factors (e.g., weather, driver’s gender, and speeding) have been statistically controlled for, but the main focus was on the interaction of driver’s age and distraction type. The findings of this thesis have implications for policy making and prioritizing capabilities of distraction-related safety systems.

This thesis investigates the associations between crash outcomes, the existence and type of driver distraction as well as driver’s age. The crash outcomes considered in this thesis consist of the type of crash as well as the injury severity sustained by occupants involved in the crash. An ordered logit model was built to predict the likelihood of severe injuries and a multinomial model was developed to predict the likelihood that a driver will be involved in one of three common crash types: singular, angular, and rearend. In these models, various factors (e.g., weather, driver’s gender, and speeding) have been statistically controlled for, but the main focus was on the interaction of driver’s age and distraction type. The findings of this thesis have implications for policy making and prioritizing capabilities of distraction-related safety systems.