Citation

Civil ID, Schwab CW. Proc. Am. Assoc. Automot. Med. Annu. Conf. 1986; 30: 163-174.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1986, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A single-page (8.5 in by 11 in) chart has been developed by condensing and editing the injury descriptions in the 1980 revision of the Abbreviated Injury Scale. To evaluate its accuracy and the ability of emergency medicine and surgery residents to appropriately score patients soon after admission, 194 patients with blunt trauma admitted to a Level I Trauma Center were studied. Errors related to construction of the form occurred in 4.1% and subsequent scoring changes resulting from delayed diagnosis occurred in 5.1%. Human inaccuracy or omission, however, resulted in initial scoring errors in 25% of patients evaluated. The availability of a simple chart with the potential for early accurate injury scaling holds promise for additional usefulness of the Abbreviated Injury Scale.