The prognostic importance of trauma scoring systems for blunt thoracic trauma

Early identification and aggressive management of blunt thoracic trauma are essential to reduce the significant rates of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the independent predictive value of 5 different trauma scoring systems (Revised Trauma Score [RTS], Trauma and Injury Severity Score [TRISS], Injury Severity Score [ISS], Lung Injury Scale [LIS], and Chest Wall Injury Scale [CWIS]) with respect to prognostic factors such as tube thoracostomy duration, the need for mechanical support and thoracotomy, the length of hospital and ICU stay, morbid conditions, and deaths of patients with blunt thoracic trauma.

The records of 152 patients with blunt thoracic trauma were reviewed and data consisting of the patients' age and gender, blood pressure and respiratory rate on admission, the extent of chest wall and intrathoracic injury, types of associated injuries, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, the need for mechanical support and thoracotomy, tube thoracostomy duration, length of hospital and ICU stay, morbid conditions, and deaths were collected. The relations between the trauma scoring systems and prognostic factors were evaluated by multivariate analysis.

The analysis showed that only TRISS was an independent predictor of mortality and only LIS was an independent predictor of morbidity, the need for thoracotomy, and tube thoracostomy duration. TRISS and LIS were independent predictors of the length of ICU stay. ISS, CWIS, and LIS were independent predictors of the need for mechanical support. RTS, TRISS, ISS and LIS were independent predictors of the length of hospital stay.

The LIS grade appeared to correlate with the severity of blunt thoracic injury and was found to be the most useful scoring system in predicting the outcomes of these patients.