The difference between ISS and NISS in a series of trauma patients in Brazil

ABSTRACT The difference between the ISS and NISS scores was determined for 1,533 inpatients consecutively admitted in 1998 in the Emergency Department of a University Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. The average ISS was 12.49 +/- 12.72, and the average NISS was 16.99 +/- 17.60. The two predictive scores were identical in 47.75% of the patients and discrepant in 52.25%. In all cases of discrepant scores, the NISS was greater than ISS. NISS identified significantly more (42.47%) major trauma patients (score > or = 16) than ISS (34.18%) (p<0.001). For nonsurvivors the percentage of discrepant score was higher (75.68%) than for the survivors group (48.28%).