MESS Scale for Combat Limb Injury: Amputation or Salvage?

Summary. Combat injury of the limbs is characterized by multilevel open combined tissue damages, severity which in some cases makes it impossible salvage tactics.
 Objective: based on analysis literature, to investigate possibility using MESS (the mangled extremity score - assessment a broken limb) when establishing indications for early amputation severely injured limb due combat trauma.
 Materials and Methods. A literature search was conducted PubMed database according established criteria. Data were taken from selected sources: number amputation/save weighted average value. with 95% confidence interval (CI) coefficient variation calculated.
 Results. total 189 sources criteria identified period 1990-2021, applied; 7 analysis. The generalizing value (weighted average) amputations 7.3; CI (6.27-8.33); 4.1. While preserving limb, calculations showed 4.9; (4.49-5.31); 8.4.
 Conclusions. use possible assess condition limb; or above reliable predictor amputation.