Title : Validation of the Simplified Motor Score in a State Trauma Registry

Introduction: Accurate evaluation of the extent and severity of neurologic injury is a key component in the care of the trauma patient as traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in trauma victims. EMS assessment of the severity of such injury affects such decisions as need for transfer to a trauma center. Currently, the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is the most widely used method of assessing severity of TBI. The GCS is a 15-point scale which measures 3 components of neurologic functioning to arrive at a composite score: eye opening, verbal response, and motor response. In Ohio, patients with a GCS ≤13 in the field meet criteria for transfer to a trauma center. Despite its widespread use, some authors have questioned the usefulness of the GCS due to its complexity. We determined to study another potential measure of neurologic injury, the Simplified Motor Score, as potential measure of severe neurologic injury in trauma patients.