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Pediatric trauma team activation: are we making the right call?

York Tien Lee1, Xun Yi Jasmine Feng1, Yea-Chyi Lin1

  • 1Department of Paediatric Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.

European Journal of Pediatric Surgery : Official Journal of Austrian Association of Pediatric Surgery ... [Et Al] = Zeitschrift Fur Kinderchirurgie
|July 16, 2013
PubMed

Insights

The Pediatric Trauma Score (PTS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and respiratory rate (RR) showed poor reliability in identifying major pediatric trauma and guiding resuscitation in Singapore. Refinements are needed to improve accuracy and reduce undertriage.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Trauma System Evaluation
  • Clinical Scoring Systems

Background:

  • Regionalized trauma systems require tailoring to local epidemiology and resources.
  • Singapore's compact geography and low severe trauma incidence present unique pediatric trauma system challenges.
  • A reliable screening system is crucial for identifying children needing urgent transport and trauma team activation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the validity of the Pediatric Trauma Score (PTS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and respiratory rate (RR) in identifying pediatric patients with major trauma.
  • To assess the reliability of PTS, GCS, and RR in predicting the need for emergency department (ED) resuscitation.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of trauma registry data from January 2011 to December 2012.
  • Inclusion of 92 pediatric patients, analyzing demographics, injury mechanisms, resuscitation, and outcomes.
  • Calculation of sensitivity and specificity for PTS, GCS, and RR in predicting major trauma and ED resuscitation.

Main Results:

  • Of 92 patients, 26 had major trauma and 21 received ED resuscitation.
  • Sensitivity and specificity for predicting major trauma: PTS ≤ 8 (61.5%, 77.3%), GCS ≤ 10 (26.9%, 100%), abnormal RR (53.8%, 60.6%).
  • Sensitivity and specificity for predicting ED resuscitation: PTS ≤ 8 (90.5%, 83.1%), GCS ≤ 10 (28.6%, 98.6%), abnormal RR (76.2%, 66.2%).

Conclusions:

  • The current parameters of the Pediatric Trauma Score (PTS) require refinement to enhance accuracy and minimize undertriage.
  • The study indicated poor reliability of PTS, GCS, and RR in predicting pediatric major trauma.
  • Combined scoring systems like PTS may render other physiologic parameters such as GCS and RR redundant if not properly validated.
Abstract

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